OUR  COUNTRY: 

ITS  PAST,  PRESENT,  AM  FUTURE 


WHAT  THE  SCRIPTURES  SAY  OF  ft 


By  U!\IAH  SMITH, 


Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  Battle  Creek  College,  Thirty  Years  Editor  "Review  and 
Herald,"   Author  of  "  Thoughts  on  Daniel  and  the  Revelation."  "  Man's 
Nature  and  Destiny,"  "  Parliamentary  Rules,"  etc. 


Seventieth    Thousand. 


REVIEW  &  HERALD,  PUBLISHERS, 

BATTLE    CTCEEK,    MICH.  ; 
PACIFIC  PRESS,   OAKLAND,    CAL.; 

PRESENT  TRUTH,  GREAT  GRIMSBY, 

ENGLAND. 

1887. 


"171 


"  Westward  the  Course  of  Empire  takes  its  way, 
,     „  ,Tfiet  first  four  Acts  already  past, 
A  .fifth  ;J/?3//  dose  the  drama  with  the  day,— 
r<    „  .Time's  nopJest  offspring  is  the  Last." 


—BISHOP  GEORGE  BERKELEY. 

WRITTEN   ABOUT   1726. 


COPYRIGHTED  BY  REVIEW  &  HERALD, 
BATTLE  CREEK,  MICH.,  1885. 


R  B  K  A  C  E 


E  have  a  right  to  presume  that  every  intelligent  and  patri 
otic  citizen  of  the  Great  American  Republic,  feels  an  inter 
est  in  all  that  pertains  to  his  country — in  what  it  has  been, 
is,  and  is  to  be  While  he  Icoks  with  just  pride  on  its  past 
unparalleled  progress  and  noble  achievements,  and  surveys  with 
satisfaction  its  present  position  of  national  exaltation  and  influ 
ence,  with  its  free  government,  immense  wealth,  and  exhaustless 
resources,  he  cannot  be  indifferent  to  probabilities  affecting  its 
future,  so  far  as  they  may  be  legitimately  calculated  from  lessons 
of  history,  from  principles  established  in  our  own  Constitution, 
and  from  the  tendency  of  influences  already  actively  and  widely 
at  work  in  different  parts  of  our  land. 

In  this  direction,  the  mind  of  every  one  must  turn  with  peculiar 
interest ;  and  while  many  unquestionable  conclusions  relative  to 
our  future  may  be  established  on  the  grounds  already  referred  to, 
we  believe  there  is  another  source  of  instruction,  almost  wholly 
overlooked  or  ignored,  which  sets  forth  more  explicitly  and  more 
fully  startling  developments  which  days  not  far  to  come  have  in 
store  for  us.  It  is  designed  in  this  work  to  call  particular  atten 
tion  to  these  matters. 

We  do  not  purpose  here  to  enter  largely  into  the  history  of  this 
government.  There  are  works  already  published  which  leave 
nothing  to  be  desired  in  this  direction.  Neither  is  it  our  object 
to  make  in  these  pages  either  political  economy,  arithmetic,  or 
geography,  a  specialty,  though  something  will  be  referred  to 
under  each  head.  The  leading  title  of  the  book  is  given  as  "The 
Marvel  of  Nations;"  and  we  propose  to  inquire  somewhat  into 
the  significance  of  this  ''marvel."  If  we  believe  that  there  is  a 
God  who  rules  in  the  kingdoms  of  men  ( Dan.  5:21),  we  must 
look  for  his  providential  hand  in  human  history,  in  the  rise, 
career,  and  fall  of  the  nations  and  peoples  of  the  world.  But  as 
a  prominent  and  inevitable  object  in  this  line  of  thought  lies  the 
inquiry,  what  providential  design  we  are  to  look  for  in  a  nation 
which  has  been  so  suddenly  and  rapidly  developed  as  this  has 


vl  PREFACE. 

been,  and  what  grand  purpose  God  has  to  work  out  through  this 
goodly  heritage  of  ours.  This  inquiry  will  not  be  pressed  even 
to  the  verge  of  fancy  or  speculation  ;  for,  if  we  mistake  not, 
enough  will  be  found  to  instruct  us,  perhaps  surprise  us,  on  these 
points,  in  the  solid  and  sober  realm  of  fact. 

Many  of  the  most  studious,  careful,  and  critical  minds  of  the 
present  generation,  have  been  led  to  the  conclusion  that  numer 
ous  lines  of  prophecy,  spanning  many  ages  and  embracing  many 
lands,  find  their  focal  point  in  our  own  times  ;  may  we  not  add, 
also,  in  our  own  country  ?  Certainly,  the  present  age  seems  to  be 
illuminated  by  the  light  of  current  prophetic  fulfillments  above  all 
others.  Here  we  find  the  most  emphatic  touches  of  the  inspired 
pencil ;  and  the  events  to  transpire  and  the  agents  therein  con 
cerned  are  brought  out  in  a  most  vivid  and  startling  light.  Has 
the  United  States  any  part  to  act  in  these  scenes  ?  What  do  the 
Scriptures  say  on  this  question?  None  but  those  who  do  not  be 
lieve  that  God  ever  foretells  the  history  of  nations,  or  that  his 
providence  ever  works  in  their  development  and  decline,  can  fail 
to  be  interested  in  a  consideration  of  these  topics. 

That  this  little  treatise  is  exhaustive  of  the  subject  which  it  es 
says  to  bring  briefly  before  the  reader,  is  not  claimed ;  but  many 
facts  are  presented  which  are  thought  to  be  worthy  of  serious 
consideration,  and  enough  evidence,  it  is  confidently  hoped,  is 
produced  in  favor  of  the  positions  taken  to  show  the  reader  that 
the  subject  is  not  one  of  mere  theory,  but  one  of  the  highest  prac 
tical  importance,  and  so  enough  to  stimulate  thought,  and  lead  to 
further  inquiry. 

If  the  views  presented  in  the  following  pages  are  correct,  the 
subject  is  destined  soon  to  become  one  of  absorbing  interest ;  and 
information  respecting  it  is  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  our 
duties  and  responsibilities  in  the  solemn  and  important  times  that 
are  upon  us.  In  this  light  we  commend  it  to  the  candid  and  se 
rious  attentio'n  of  the  reader. 

U.  S. 

BATTLE  CREEK,  MICH.,  ) 
August,  1885.  \ 


CHAPTEK   I. 

EXPECTATIONS    AND   PREDICTIONS    OF    EMINENT    MEN. 

Prominence  and  influence  of  this  nation — Ten  striking  facts 
— Remarkable  declarations  and  predictions  by  Sir  Thomas 
Browne,  Rev.  Andrew  Burnaby,  John  Adams,  Galiani, 
Adam  Smith,  Governor  Pownal,  David  Hartley,  Count 
d'Aranda,  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  George  Herbert,  De- 
Tocquevillc,  G.  A.  Townsend,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Foster.  .  13-21 


CHAPTER   II. 
A  CENTURY'S  PROGRESS. 

Testimony  of  Emile  de  Girardin,  the  Dublin  (Ireland)  Nation, 
Mitchell — First  settlements — Population — Close  of  the 
Revolution — Territorial  growth — Increase  of  Population 
— Development  of  cities — Industrial  growth — First  cot 
ton-mills  and  railroads — Great  American  inventions — 
Agriculture — Cotton  industry — Live  stock — Manufactures 
— Iron  and  other  rnetals — Mining — The  gold  discovery — 
Commerce — Banking  and  insurance — Arts  and  sciences 
— Literature — Printing  —  Postal  and  telegraph  service 
— America  the  great  cattle  raiser— Lumber  interests 
—The  great  coal  producer — Most  notable  structures  in 
the  world — Progress  in  one  generation 22-70 


CHAPTER   III. 

POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE    OF    THE    NATION. 

Civil    and    religious    liberty — Constitutional   guarantees — A 

[vii] 


viii  CONTENTS. 

nation  on  a  new  model— The  magnet  of  America — The 
asylum  of  the  oppressed — Morality  and  religion — Organ 
ized  liberty — Constitution-making — Our  Constitution  pro 
nounced  in  England  the  most  sacred  political  document 
in  the  world — American  literature  abroad — Stability  of 
our  government — The  model  republic  ...  71  -8b 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IMPORTANT  PROBABILITIES  CONSIDERED. 

A  miracle  of  growth — Providence  conspicuous  in  our  history 
—Why  nations  are  mentioned  in  the  Bible — Why  should 
not  our  own  be  mentioned  ? — Survey  of  Biblical  symbols — 
Conclusions..  .  89- 9£ 


CHAPTEE  V. 

A   CHAIN   OF    PROPHECY. 

Second  symbol  of  Revelation  13 — The  prophecy  located — The 
Church  of  God  the  prominent  object — Symbols  explained 
—  Historical  facts  considered  —  Chronology,  location, 
character,  work,  continuance,  and  overthrow  of  two 
important  symbols 94-104 


CHAPTER  VI. 

LOCATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT   REPRESENTED    BY  THE  SECOND 
SYMBOL  OF  REVELATION  13. 

Leading  symbolic  features — Religious  elements — Not  in  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere — The  ten  kingdoms  of  Western  Eu 
rope — Testimony  of  Machiavelli,  Bishop  Newton,  Faber, 
and  Dr.  Hales — Time's  noblest  'offspring — The  Western 
Hemisphere — The  eyes  of  all  Europe  upon  us — Sayings  of 
Talleyrand..  .  105-113 


CONTENTS.  lx 

CHAPTEE   VII. 

WHEN    MUST   THE   GOVERNMENT     INDICATED    BY    TRIS     SYMBOL 

ARISE  ? 

Chronology  an  important  consideration  —  The  head  of  the 
government  —  Home's  seven  forms  of  government  —  A 
deadly  wound  —  Papal  overthrow  in  1798  —  Testimony  of 
Geo.  Croly,  A.  M.  —  Three  important  chronological  proofs 
—  Survey  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  —  The  United  States 
the  leading  nation  here  ............  .......  ........  114-123 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

THE    UNITED     STATES     HAS     ARISEN     IN     THE     EXACT     MANNER 
INDICATED    BY    THE    SYMBOL. 

Gomes  up  in  a  new  territory  —  Comes  up  peacefully  —  View  of 
J.  P.  Thompson,  LL.  D.  —  Burke  on  the  American  Revo 
lution  —  The  expression  used  by  the  Apostle  John  —  G.  A. 
Townsend's  testimony  —  Edward  Everett  on  English  exiles 
—  Corroborated  by  statistics  of  progress  ............  124  130 


.     CHAPTEE  IX. 

THE    TWO    GREAT    PRINCIPLES    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

How  the  Scriptures  symbolize  power  and  strength  —  A  Church 
without  a  pope  and  a  State  without  a  king—  Civil  and 
religious  liberty  —  Republicanism  and  Protestantism  —  A 
youthful  power  —  Declaration  of  Independence  —  A  noble 
profession  —  Law  of  symbols  .......................  131-135 

CHAPTEE  X. 

INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES. 

Points  made  —  Religious  bigotry  of  the  past  —  Danger  of 
ecclesiastical  power  —  How  a  government  speaks  —Dan- 


CONTENTS. 

gerous  tendencies — Opposition  to  dissenters — A  warning 
by  D'Aubigne — Political  corruption — Spirit  of  the  Dark 
Ages  still  alive — Charles  Beecher  on  Protestant  apostasy 
—  Principles  of  the  French  Revolution  —  Time  the 
teacher..  136-145 


CHAPTER  XI. 

HE    DOETH    GREAT    WONDERS. 

Modern  discoveries  in  the  arts  and  sciences — Wonderful  in 
ventions — Religious  wonders— Meaning  cf  2  Thess.  2  :  9, 
10 — Spiritualism — Experiments  by  Prof.  Zollner — Judge 
Edmonds's  testimony — To  the  kings  of  the  eiirth— Extent 
of  this  work..  .  146  153 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CHURCH   AND   STATE. 

The  government  republican — A  Protestant  nation — Collusion 
with  the  papacy — What  is  possible  in  this  government— 
Influences  at  work — Condition  of  Christianity — Warn 
ings  from  the  Scriptures — Existing  expectations — A  great 
American  Catholic  Church  called  for..  .  159-16? 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    SUNDAY    QUESTION. 

Agents  identified  — Acts  ascribed  to  each  —  The  coming 
issue  —  A  fearful  sin  denounced  —  Bishop  Newton 
on  the  use  of  a  mark  —  The  characteristics  of  Ro 
man  Catholicism  —  What  it  has  attempted  in  the  re 
ligious  world — Agreement  between  Daniel  and  Paul — 
How  a  person  shows  himself  a  follower  of  the  papacy — 
What  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  claims  to  have  done 
— Relics  of  Romanism  retained  by  Protestants — The  Re 
formers  vindicated.  .  .  168-186 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

INDICATIONS  OF  COMING  CHANGES. 

Movements  toward  Church  and  State — Influence  of  Spiritual 
ism — Efforts  for  a  union  of  all  Churches— Sunday  reform 
movements — Religion  in  politics — The  National  Reform 
Association  —  Seeking  to  amend  the  Constitution  —  A 
"Politico-Theological  movement"  on  foot — History  of 
the  National  Reform  movement — Strong  resolutions — • 
The  Pittsburg  Convention — Progress  of  the  work — Intu 
itions  of  Liberalism — The  die  cast — Inconsistent  profes 
sions — The  Independent  humorously  unveils  the  movement 
— The  Church  to  rule — Religious  tests  for  office — Religious 
legislation  called  for — Compulsion  for  dissenters — Equal 
rights  ignored — A  political  party  on  a  religious  platform 
— The  Sunday  movement  in  foreign  lands — Combined 
strength  of  religious  bodies — Sunday  as  a  political  insti 
tution — Secretary  Thompson's  position — A  hypocritical 
distinction — Religious  discrimination — Demands  of  Liber 
alism — Religious  tyranny  impending — Desperate  deter 
minations — Change  in  public  sentiment— Surrender  of  the 
Reformation — Our  position  defined — Inevitable  result  of 
the  proposed  movement — "The  old  Philadelphia  lie" — 
Consent  of  the  governed — Religious  oppression  begun — 
Unmistakable  indications  for  the  future 187-268 

APPENDIXES. . .  . .  275-289 


LIST   0P    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


STEEL  PORTRAIT  OF  AUTHOR,       .......  3 

OUR  NATIONAL  EMBLEM,    -  4 

PLYMOUTH  ROCK,      .........       -  21 

MAP,  SHOWING  OUR  SEVERAL  ACCESSIONS  OF  TERRITORY,      -  25 

CHICAGO  AS  IT  APPEARED  IN  1833,      .....      -  28 

GREAT  CHICAGO  FIRE,        .....       -  28 

BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  CHICAGO  IN  1880,       -  29 

FIRST  DUTCH  SETTLEMENT  OF  NEW  YORK  IN  1612,  31 

NEW  YORK  CITY  IN  1648,         ......       .       .  31 

NEW  YORK  CITY  IN  1880,     .....       ..       ...  32 

AGRICULTURAL  VIGNETTE,    -      ...  34 
MINING  SCENES,     .......              -       -       -   39,  40 

VIEW  ON  THE  ERIE  CANAL,    -  42 

THE  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVE,     .......       -  43 

A  COMMON  RAILROAD  SCENE,       -       -  44 

SIGNAL  STATION  ON  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD,  45 

A  WOOD  ENGRAVER  PLYING  ins  PROFESSION,        ...  47 

THE  OLD  FRANKLIN  (RAMAGE)  PRESS,  50 

THE  HOE  PERFECTING  PRESS,       -  51 

BATTLE  CREEK  TABERNACLE,  ......       -  52 

MINISTERING  TO  THE  FALLEN,      .....       -  53 

HOME  FOR  THE  HOMELESS,         -----  53 

A  BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  -  56 

LUMBER  VIGNETTE,      -       .......       .       .  57 

CAPITOL  BUILDING  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,     -       -  59 
THE  WASHINGTON  MONUMENT,        ------             -60 

BARTHOLDI'S  STATUE  OF  LIBERTY  ENLIGHTENING  THE  WORLD,  62 

THE  BROOKLYN  BRIDGE,         ........  63 

FULTON'S  FIRST  STEAMBOAT  (1807),        ------  65 

THE  "  SOUND  "  STEAMER  PILGRIM  (1885)  ,  -----  65 

THE  GREAT  PRAIRIES  OF  THE  WEST,      -      -              -  67 

THE  MAYFLOWER  (FROM  A  MODEL  IN  PILGRIM  HALL),        -  69 

MEETING  OF  THE  ORIENT  AND  OCCIDENT,      -----  70 

AMERICAN  PROGRESS  (PLATE),  -------  71 

LET  THERE  BE  LIGHT,         .....       ----104 

SMALL  GLOBE,  SHOWING  THE  GREATEST  AMOUNT  OF  LAND,  113 

OUR  NATIONAL  EMBLEM,       -       -       -       -       -       --      -  123 

AMERICAN  VIGNETTE,         -                     ......  130 

LAMB  -LIKE  SYMBOL,        .........  135 

A  STORM,         ..........       --  145 

INCREASE  OF  KNOWLEDGE,     ........  149 

SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE,    -      -  353,  269 
[xii] 


OUR  COUNTRY: 

ITS  PAST,  PRESENT,  AND  FUTURE, 


CHAPTER    I. 


EXPECTATIONS  AND  PREDICTIONS  OF  EMINENT  MEN. 

||T  is  but  a  little  more  than  one  hundred  years 
fl  since  the  nation  known  as  "  THE  UNITED  STATES 
^F  OF  AMERICA"  began  to  exist.  A  hundred  years 
is  not  a  long  period  in  the  history  of  nations.  Let 
the  eye  run  back  upon  the  path  of  history,  and  mark 
the  condition  of  nations  when  only  a  hundred  years 
of  age.  Ancient  Rome,  the  most  notable  of  them  all, 
when  it  had  attained  the  age  of  a  hundred  years,  was 
scarcely  known  outside  the  few  provinces  of  Italy 
which  composed  its  territory.  Not  so  with  this  new 
empire  of  the  West.  Ere  a  hundred  years  had 
elapsed,  its  fame  had  encircled  the  earth,  exciting  the 
wonder  and  envy  of  the  aged  and  stagnant  kingdoms 
of  other  lands.  It  began  with  a  few  small  settlements 
of  earnest  men,  who,  fleeing  from  the  religious  in 
tolerance  of  the  Old  World,  occupied  a  narrow  area 
along  our  Atlantic  coast.  Now,  a  mighty  nation, 
with  a  vast  expanse  of  territory  stretching  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  and  from  regions  almost  arctic  on  the 
north  to  regions  as  nearly  torrid  on  the  south,  em 
bracing  more  square  leagues  of  habitable  land  than 

[13] 


14:  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

Rome  ruled  over  in  its  palmiest  days,  after  more  than 
seven  centuries  of  growth,  here  holds  a  position  of  in 
dependence  and  glory  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.* 
And  the  sound  of  this  new  nation  has  gone  into 
all  the  world.  It  has  reached  the  toiling  millions  of 

o 

Europe  ;  and  they  are  swarming  to  our  shores  to 
share  its  blessings.  It  has  gone  to  the  islands  of  the 
sea  ;  and  they  have  sent  their  living  contributions  to 
swell  its  busy  population.  It  has  reached  the  Orient, 
and  opened,  as  with  a  pass-word,  the  gates  of  nations 
long  barred  against  intercourse  writh  other  powers  ; 
and  China  and  Japan,  turning  from  their  beaten  track 
of  forty  centuries,  are  looking  with  wonder  at  the 
prodigy  arising  across  the  Pacific  to  the  east  of  them, 
and  catching  some  of  the  impulse  which  this  growing 
power  is  imparting  to  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Precisely  one  hundred  and  nine  years  ago,  writh 
about  three  millions  of  people,  the  United  States  be 
came  an  independent  government.  It  has  now  a  pop 
ulation  of  over  fifty-five  millions  of  people,  and  a  ter 
ritory  of  more  than  three  and  a  half  millions  of  square 
miles.  Russia  alone  exceeds  this  nation  in  these  par 
ticulars,  having  thirty  millions  more  of  people,  and, 
including  the  vast  and  dreary  regions  of  Siberia, 
nearly  five  millions  more  square  miles  of  territory. f 


*  In  a  speech  at  the**'  Centennial  Dinner  "  at  the  Westminster  Palace  Ho 
tel,  London,  July  4,  1876,  J.  P.  Thompson,  LL.  D.,  speaking  of  the  United 
States,  said  :  "  They  have  proved  the  possibility  of  free,  popular  govern 
ment  upon  a  scale  to  which  the  Roman  Republic  of  five  hundred  years 
was  but  a  province." — The  United  States  as  a  Nation,  p.  xvii. 

f  The  area  of  the  two  countries  is  given  in  "  Lippincott's  Gazetteer 
of  the  World,"  as  follows: — 

United  States, 3,580,242  square  miles. 

Russia, 8,352,940  square  miles, 


EXPECTATIONS    AND    PREDICTIONS.  15 

Of  all  other  nations  on  the  globe  whose  laws  are 
framed  by  legislative  bodies  elected  by  the  people, 
Brazil,  which  has  the  largest  territory,  has  but  little 
more  than  three  millions  of  square  miles  ;  and  France, 
the  most  populous,  has  not  by  many  millions  so  great 
a  number  of  inhabitants  as  our  country.  So  that  in 
point  of  territory  and  population  combined,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  United  States  now  stands  at  the  head 
of  the  self-governing  powers  of  the  earth. 

Occupying  a  position  altogether  unique,  this  gov 
ernment  excites  equally  the  astonishment  and  the  ad 
miration  of  all  beholders.  The  main  features  of  its 
history  arc  such  as  have  had  no  parallel  since  the  dis 
tinction  of  nations  existed  among  men. 

1.  No  nation  ever  acquired  so  vast  a  territory  in  so 
quiet  a  manner. 

2.  No  nation  ever  rose  to  such  greatness  by  means 
so  peaceable. 

3.  No  nation  ever  advanced  so  rapidly  in  all  that 
constitutes  national  strength  and  capital. 

4.  No  nation  ever  rose  to  such  a  pinnacle  of  power 
in  a  space  of  time  so  incredibly  short. 

5.  No  nation  in   so   limited   a   time   has   developed 
such  unlimited  resources. 

6.  No  nation  has  ever  existed,  the  foundations  of 
whose  government  were  laid  so  broad  and  deep  in 
the  principles  of  justice,  righteousness,  and  truth. 

*1.  No  nation  has  ever  existed  in  which  men  have 
been  left  so  free  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dic 
tates  of  their  own  consciences. 

8.  In  no  nation  and  in  no  age  of  the  world  have  the 
arts  and  sciences  so  flourished,  so  many  improvements 
been  made,  and  so  great  successes  been  achieved  in 
the  arts  both  of  peace  and  war,  as  in  our  own  country 
during  the  last  fifty  years. 


16  THE    MARVEL    OF    NATIONS. 

9.  In  no  nation  and  in  no  age  has  the  gospel  found 
such  freedom,  and  the  churches  of  Christ  had  such 
liberty  to    enlarge    their    borders  and  develop  their 
strength. 

10.  No  age  of  the  world  has  seen  such  an  immigra 
tion  as  that  which   is  now  pouring  into   our  borders 
from  all  lands  the   millions  who   have   long  groaned 
under  despotic  governments,  and  who  now  turn  to 
this  broad  territory  of  freedom  as  the  avenue  of  hope, 
the  Utopia  of  the  nations. 

The  most  discerning  minds  have  been  intuitively 
impressed  with  the  idea  of  the  future  greatness  and 
power  of  this  government.  In  view  of  the  grand  re 
sults  developed  and  developing,  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus,  not  four  hundred  years  ago, 
is  set  down  as  "the  greatest  event  of  all  secular  his 
tory." 

The  progress  of  empire  to  this  land  was  long  ago 
expected. 

Sir  Thomas  Browne,  in  1682  predicted  the  growth 
of  a  power  here  which  would  rival  the  European  king 
doms  in  strength  and  prowess. 

In  Burnaby's  "Travels  through  the  Middle  Settle 
ments  of  North  America  in  1759  and  1760,"  published 
in  1775,  is  expressed  this  sentiment  :— 

"An  idea,  strange  as  it  is  visionary,  has  entered  into  the  minds 
of  the  generality  of  mankind,  that  empire  is  traveling  westward  ; 
and  every  one  is  looking  forward  with  eager  and  impatient  expec 
tation  to  that  destined  moment  when  America  is  to  give  the  law 
to  the  rest  of  the  world. " 

John  Adams,  Oct.  12,.  1775,  wrote  :— 

"  Soon  after  the  Reformation,  a  few  people  came  over  into  this 
New  World  for  conscience'  sake.  Perhaps  this  apparently  trivial 
incident  may  transfer  the  great  seat  of  empire,  to  America." 


EXPECTATIONS   AND   PREDICTIONS.  17 

On  the  day  after  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  he  wrote  : — 

"Yesterday  the  greatest  question  was  decided  which  was  ever 
debated  in  America,  and  a  greater,  perhaps,  never  was,  nor  will 
be,  decided  among  men." 

In  1776,  Galiani,  a  Neapolitan,  predicted  the  grad 
ual  decay  of  European  institutions,  to  renew  them 
selves  in  America.  In  1778,  in  reference  to  the  ques 
tion  as  to  which  was  to  be  the  ruling  power  in  the 
world,  Europe  or  America,  he  said, — 

"  I  will  wager  in  favor  of  America." 

Adam  Smith,  of  Scotland,  in  1776  predicted  the 
transfer  of  empire  to  America. 

Governor  Pownal,  an  English  statesman,  in  1780, 
while  our  Revolution  was  in  progress,  predicted  that 
this  country  would  become  independent,  and  that  a 
civilizing  activity,  beyond  what  Europe  could  ever 
know,  would  animate  it  ;  and  that  its  commercial  and 
naval  power  would  be  found  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  Again  he  said  : — 

"  North  America  has  advanced,  and  is  every  day  advancing,  to 
growth  of  state,  with  a  steady  and  continually  accelerating  motion, 
of  which  there  lias  never  yet  been  any  example  in  Europe." 

David  Hartley  wrote  from  England  in  1777  : — 

"At  sea,  which  has  hitherto  been  our  prerogative  element,  they 
[the  United  States]  rise  against  us  at  a  stupendous  rate  ;  and  if 
we  cannot  return  to  our  old  mutual  hospitalities  toward  each  other, 
a  very  few  years  will  show  us  a  most  formidable  hostile  marine, 
ready  to  join  hands  with  any  of  our  enemies." 

Count  d'Aranda,  one  of  the  first  of  Spanish  states 
men,  in  1783  thus  wrote  of  this  Republic  :— 

"This  Federal  Republic  was  born  a  pygmy,  so  to  speak.  It  re 
quired  the  support  and  forces  of  two  powers  as  great  as  Spain  and 


18  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

France  in  order  to  attain  Independence.    A  day  will  come  when 
it  will  be  a  giant,  even  a  colossus,  formidable  in  these  countries."  * 

Sir  Thomas  Browne,  referred  to  above,  in  1684  pub 
lished  certain  "  Miscellany  Tracts,"  one  of  which,  en 
titled  "The  Prophecy,"  is  the  one  which  contains  his 
reflections  on  the  rise  and  progress  of  America.  Dr. 
Johnson  says  of  it:  "Browne  plainly  discovers  his 
expectation  to  be  the  same  with  that  entertained 
lately  with  more  confidence  by  Dr.  Berkeley  that 
'America  will  be  the  seat  of  the  fifth  empire.'"  It  is 
in  verse,  and  the  lines  relating  to  America  are  : — 

"When  New  England  shall  trouble  New  Spain, 
When  America  shall  cease  to  send  out  its  treasure, 
But  employ  it  at  home  in  American  pleasure ; 
When  the  new  world  shall  the  old  invade, 
Nor  count  them  their  lords,  but  their  fellows  in  trade/' 
— DuycltincKs  American  Literature,  vol.  i.,p.  179. 

In  1773  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  (Wales)  before  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,  said : — 

"The  colonies  of  North  America  have  not  only  taken  root  and 
acquired  strength,  but  seem  hastening,  with  an  accelerated  prog 
ress,  to  such  a  powerful  state  as  may  introduce  a  new  and  impor 
tant  change  in  human  affairs." — Id. 

The  transfer  of  religion  to  this  land,  and  its  revival 
here,  was  also  expected.  George  Herbert  in  a  poem 
entitled  "  The  Church  Militant,"  published  in  1633, 
said  : — 

"  Religion  stands  on  tiptoe  in  our  land, 
Ready  to  pass  to  the  American  strand." — Id. 

Of  these  prophecies,  some  are  now  wholly  fulfilled, 

*  These  quotations  are  from  an  article  by  Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  entitled 
"Prophetic  Voices  about  America,"  published  In  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of 
September,  1867. 


EXPECTATIONS   AND    PREDICTIONS.  19 

and  the  remainder  far  on  the  road  to  fulfillment. 
This  infant  of  yesterday  stands  forth  to-day  a  giant, 
vigorous,  active,  and  courageous,  and  accepts  with 
dignity  its  manifest  destiny  at  the  head  of  powers  and 
civilizations. 

A  question  of  thrilling  interest  now  arises.  This 
government  has  received  recognition  at  the  hands  of 
men  sufficient  to  satisfy  any  ambition.  Does  the  God 
of  heaven  also  recognize  it,  and  has  he  spoken  con 
cerning  it  ?  In  other  words,  does  the  prophetic  pen, 
which  has  so  fully  delineated  the  rise  and  progress  of 
all  the  other  great  nations  of  the  earth,  pass  this  one 
by  unnoticed  ?  What  are  the  probabilities  in  this 
matter  ?  As  the  student  of  prophecy,  in  common 
with  all  mankind,  looks  with  wonder  upon  the  un 
paralleled  rise  and  progress  of  this  nation,  he  can 
not  repress  the  conviction  that  the  hand  of  Providence 
has  been  at  work  in  this  quiet  but  mighty  revolution. 
And  this  conviction  he  shares  in  common  with  others. 

Governor  Pownal,  from  whom  a  quotation  has  al 
ready  been  presented,  speaking  of  the  establishment 
of  this  country  as  a  free  and  sovereign  power,  calls 
it— 

"A  revolution  that  has  stranger  marks  of  divine  interposition,  su 
perseding  the  ordinary  course  of  human  affairs,  than  any  other 
event  which  this  world  has  experienced." 

De  Tocqueville,  a  French  writer,  speaking  of  our 
separation  from  England,  says  : — 

"It  might  seem  their  folly,  but  was  really  their  fate  ;  or,  rather, 
the  providence  of  God,  who  has  doubtless  a  work  for  them  to  do 
in  which  the  massive  materiality  of  the  English  character  would 
have  been  too  ponderous  a  dead  weight  upon  their  progress." 

Geo.  Alfred  Townsend,  speaking  of  the  misfortunes 


20  THE  MARVEL   Off  NATIONS. 

that  have  attended  the  other  governments    on    this 
continent  (New  World  and  Old,  p.  635),  says  :— 

"The  history  of  the  United  States  was  separated  by  a  beneficent 
Providence  far  from  the  wild  and  cruel  history  of  the  rest  of  the 
continent." 

Again  he  says  : — 

"This  hemisphere  was  laid  away  for  no  one  race/' 

Mr.  J.  M.  Foster,  in  a  Sermon  before  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  Nov.  30,  1882, 
bore  the  following  explicit  testimony  to  the  fact  that 
the  hand  of  Providence  has  been  remarkably  displayed 
in  the  establishment  of  this  government : — 

"Let  us  look  at  the  history  of  our  own  nation.  The  Mediator 
long  ages  ago  prepared  this  land  as  the  home  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  He  made  it  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  He 
stored  our  mountains  with  coal,  and  iron,  and  copper,  and  silver, 
and  gold.  He  prepared  our  fountains  of  oil,  planted  our  forests, 
leveled  our  plains,  enriched  our  valleys,  and  beautified  them  with 
lakes  and  rivers.  He  guided  the  Mayflower  over  the  sea,  so  that 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  safely  on  Plymouth  Rock.  He  directed 
the  course  of  our  civilization,  so  that  we  have  become  a  great  na 
tion." 


Plymouth    Rock. 

The  spot  where  the  PILGRIM  FATHERS  landed  from  the  "Mayflower,"  Dec.  21,  1620.  A 
portion  of  this  granite  rock  has  been  removed  from  the  water-side,  and  located  in  front  of 
Pilgrim  Hall,  protected  by  an  iron  fence.  The  original  portion  on  Water  Street,  is  covered  by 
a  suitable  canopy,  in  the  top  of  which  are  the  bones  Of  the  original  settlers.  Plymouth  is  37 
miles  southeast  from  Boston,  Mass, 

[21] 


CHAPTER   II. 


A    CENTURY'S    PROGRESS. 

the  foregoing  predictions  been  justified, 
and  the  expectations  of  these  great  men  been 
fulfilled  ?  Every  person  whose  reading  is  or 
dinarily  extensive  has  something  of  an  idea  of  what 
the  United  States  is  to-day  ;  he  likewise  has  an  idea, 
so  far  as  words  can  convey  it  to  his  mind,  of  what 
this  country  was  at  the  commencement  of  its  history. 
The  only  object,  then,  in  presenting  statistics  and 
testimony  on  this  point,  is  to  show  that  our  rapid 
growth  has  struck  mankind  with  the  wonder  of  a 
constant  miracle. 

Said  Emile  de  Girardin  in  La  Liberte  (1868)  : — 

"  The  population  of  America,  not  thinned  by  any  conscription, 
multiplies  with  prodigious  rapidity,  and  the  day  may  before  [long 
be]  seen,  when  they  will  number  sixty  or  eighty  millions  of  souls. 
This  parvenu  [one  recently  risen  to  notice]  is  aware  of  his  impor 
tance  and  destiny.  Hear  him  proudly  exclaim,  'America  for  Amer 
icans!'  See  him  promising  his  alliance  to  Russia;  and  we  see 
that  power,  which  well  knows  what  force  is,  grasp  the  hand  of 
this  giant  of  yesterday. 

"In  view  of  his  unparalleled  progress  and  combination,  what  are 
the  little  toys  with  which  we  vex  ourselves  in  Europe?  What  is 
this  needle  gun  we  are  anxious  to  get  from  Prussia,  that  we  may 
beat  her  next  year  with  it?  Had  we  not  better  take  from  Amer 
ica  the  principle  of  liberty  she  embodies,  out  of  which  have  come 
her  citizen  pride,  her  gigantic  industry,  and  her  formidable  loy 
alty  to  the  destinies  of  her  republican  land?" 

The  Dublin  (Ireland)  Nation^  already  quoted,  about 
the  year  1850  said  : — 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  23 

"In  the  East  there  is  arising  a  colossal  centaur  called  the  Rus 
sian  empire.  With  a  civilized  head  and  front,  it  has  the  sinews 
of  a  huge  barbaric  body.  There  one  man's  brain  moves  70,000,- 
000.  [In  1870,  87,795,987.— Lippincott.~]  There  all  the  traditions 
of  the  people  are  of  aggression  and  conquest  in  the  West.  There 
but  two  ranks  are  distinguishable — serfs  and  soldiers.  There  the 
map  of  the  future  includes  Constantinople  and  Vienna  as  out 
posts  of  St.  Petersburg. 

"  In  the  West,  an  opposing  and  still  more  wonderful  American 
empire  is  emerging.  We  islanders  have  no  conception  of  the  ex 
traordinary  events  which  amid  the  silence  of  the  earth  are  daily 
adding  to  the  power  and  pride  of  this  gigantic  nation.  Within 
three  years,  territories  more  extensive  than  these  three  kingdoms 
[Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  Scotland],  France,  and  Italy  put 
together,  have  been  quietly,  and  in  almost  'matter-of-course* 
fashion,  annexed  to  the  Union. 

"  Within  seventy  years,  seventeen  new  Sovereignties,  the  small 
est  of  them  larger  than  Gr^at  Britain,  have  peaceably  united 
themselves  to  the  Federation.  No  standing  army  was  raised,  no 
national  debt  was  sunk,  no  great  exertion  was  made,  but  there 
they  are.  And  the  last  mail  brings  news  of  three  more  great  States 
about  to  be  joined  to  the  thirty, — Minnesota  in  the  northwest, 
Deseret  in  the  southwest,  and  California  on  the  shores  of  the  Pa 
cific.  These  three  States  will  cover  an  area  equal  to  one-half  of 
the  European  continent." 

Mitchell,  iii  his  "School  Geography"  (fourth  revised 
edition),  p.  101,  speaking  of  the  United  States, 
says  : — 

"It  presents  the  most  striking  instance  of  national  growth  to 
be  found  in  the  history  of  mankind." 

Let  us  reduce  these  general  statements  to  the  more 
tangible  form  of  facts  and  figures.  A  short  time  be 
fore  the  great  Reformation  in  the  days  of  Martin 
Luther,  not  four  hundred  years  ago,  this  western 
hemisphere  was  discovered.  The  Reformation  awoke 
the  nations,  that  were  fast  fettered  in  the  galling 
bonds  of  superstition,  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the 


24  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

heaven-born  right  of  every  man  to  worship  God  ac 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience.  But 
rulers  are  loth  to  lose  their  power,  and  religious  in 
tolerance  still  oppressed  the  people.  Under  these 
circumstances,  a  body  of  religious  heroes  at  length 
determined  to  seek  in  the  wilds  of  America  that 
measure  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  which  they  so 
much  desired.  Two  hundred  and  sixty-five  years 
ago,  Dec.  22,  1620,  the  Mayflower  landed  one  hun 
dred  of  these  voluntary  exiles  on  the  coast  of  New 
England.  "  Here,"  says  Martyn,  "New  England  was 
born,"  and  this  was  "its  first  baby  cry, — a  prayer 
and  a  thanksgiving  to  the  Lord." 

Another  permanent  English  settlement  was  made 
at  Jamestown,  Va.,  thirteen  years  before  this,  in  1607. 
In  process  of  time  other  settlements  were  made  and 
colonies  organized,  which  were  all  subject  to  the 
English  crown  till  the  declaration  of  independence, 

July  4,  1776. 

The  population  of  these  colonies,  according  to  the 
United  States  Magazine  of  August,  1855,  amounted 
in  1701,  to  262,000  ;  in  1749,  to  1,046,000  ;  in  1775, 
to  2,803,000.  Then  commenced  the  struggle  of  the 
American  colonies  against  the  oppression  of  the 
mother  country.  In  1776,  they  declared  themselves, 
as  in  justice  and  right  they  were  entitled  to  be,  a 
free  and  independent  nation.  In  1777,  delegates  from 
the  thirteen  original  States, — New  Hampshire,  Mas 
sachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Vir 
ginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia, — 
in  Congress  assembled,  adopted  Articles  of  Confed 
eration.  In  1783,  the  war  of  the  Revolution  closed 
with  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  whereby 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  25 

our  independence  was  acknowledged,  and  territory 
ceded  to  the  extent  of  815,615  square  miles.  In  1787 
the  Constitution  was  framed,  and  ratified  by  the  fore 
going  thirteen  States  ;  and  on  the  first  day  of  March, 
1789,  it  went  into  operation.  Then  the  American 
ship  of  State  was  fairly  launched,  with  less  than  one 
million  square  miles  of  territory,  and  about  three 
millions  of  souls. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  our  nation  took  its 
position  of  independence,  as  one  of  the  self-govern 
ing  powers  of  the  world.  Our  territorial  growth 
since  that  timehasbeen  as  follows  :  Louisiana,  acquired 
from  France  in  1803,  comprising  930,928  square  miles 
of  territory  ;  Florida,  from  Spain  in  1821,  with  59,268 
square  miles  ;  Texas,  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1845, 
with  237,504  square  miles  ;  Oregon,  as  settled  by 
treaty  in  1846,  with  380,425  square  miles  ;  California, 
as  conquered  from  Mexico  in  1847,  with  649,762 
square  miles  ;  Arizona  (New  Mexico),  as  acquired 
from  Mexico  by  treaty  in  1854,  with  27,500  square 
miles  ;  Alaska,  as  acquired  by  purchase  from  Russia 
in  1867,  with  577,390  square  miles.  This  gives  a 
grand  total  of  three  million,  six  hundred  seventy- 
eight  thousand,  three  hundred  and  ninety-two  (3,678,- 
392)  square  miles  of  territory,  which  is  about  four- 
ninths  of  all  North  America,  and  more  than  one-fif 
teenth  of  the  whole  land  surface  of  the  globe. 

And  while  this  expansion  has  been  thus  rapidly 
going  forward  here,  how  has  it  been  with  the  other 
leading  nations  of  the  globe  ?  Macmillan  &  Co.,  the 
London  publishers,  in  announcing  their  "  Statesman's 
Year  Book"  for  1867,  make  an  interesting  statement 
of  the  changes  that  took  place  in  Europe  during  the 


26  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

half  century  between  the  years  1817  and  1867.     They 
say  : — 

"  The  half  century  has  extinguished  three  kingdoms,  one  grand 
duchy,  eight  duchies,  four  principalities,  one  electorate,  and  four 
republics.  Three  new  kingdoms  have  arisen,  and  one  kingdom 
has  been  transformed  into  an  empire.  There  are  now  forty-one 
states  in  Europe  against  fifty-nine  which  existed  in  1817.  Not 
less  remarkable  is  the  territorial  extension  of  the  superior  states 
in  the  world.  Russia  has  annexed  567,364  square  miles;  the 
United  States,  1,968,009;  France,  4,620;  Prussia,  29,781;  Sar 
dinia,  expanding  into  Italy,  has  increased  by  83,041 ;  the  Indian 
empire  has  been  augmented  by  431,616.  The  principal  states  that 
have  lost  territory  are  Turkey,  Mexico,  Austria,  Denmark,  and 
the  Netherlands." 

We  ask  the  especial  attention  of  the  reader  to 
these  particulars.  During  the  last  half  century, 
twenty-one  governments  have  disappeared  altogether, 
and  only  three  new  ones  have  arisen.  Five  have 
lost  in  territory  instead  of  gaining.  Only  five,  be 
sides  our  own,  have  added  to  their  domain.  And  the 
one  which  has  done  the  most  in  this  direction  has 
added  only  a  little  over  half  a  million  of  square  miles, 
while  we  have  added  nearly  two  millions.  Thus  the 
United  States  government  has  added  over  fourteen 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  territory  more 
than  any  other  single  nation,  and  over  eight  hundred 
thousand  more  than  have  been  added  by  all  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth  put  together. 

In  point  of  population,  our  increase  since  1798,  ac 
cording  to  the  census  of  the  several  decades,  has  been 
as  follows:  In  1800,  the  total  number  of  inhabitants 
in  the  United  States  was  5,305,925  ;  in  1810,  7,239,- 
814  ;  in  1820,  9,638,191  ;  in  1830,  12,866,020  ;  in  1840, 
17,069,453  ;  in  1850,  23,191,876  ;  in  1860,  31,445,089  ; 
in  1870,  38,555,983  ;  in  1880,  50,000,000  ;  and  now 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  27 

(1885)  estimated  as  not  less  than  55,000,000.  These 
figures  are  almost  too  large  for  the  mind  to  grasp 
readily.  Perhaps  a  better  idea  can  be  formed  of  the 
rapid  increase  of  population  by  looking  at  a  few  rep 
resentative  cities.  Boston,  in  179,2,  had  18,000  inhab 
itants  ;  it  now  has  [census  of  1880]  362,839  ;  New 
York,  in  1792,  30,000  ;  now,  1,206,299.  Chicago,  about 
fi  fty  years  ago,  was  a  little  trading  post,  with  a  few 
huts  ;  but  yet  it  contained  at  the  time  of  the  great 
conflagration  in  October,  1871,  nearly  350,000  souls, 
and  now  has  650,000.  (See  illustrations.)  San 
Francisco,  fi  f  ty  years  ago,  was  a  barren  waste,  but 
contains  to-day  233,956  inhabitants. 

Our  industrial  growth  has  been  equally  remarkable. 
In  1792,  the  United  States  had  no  cotton-mills  ;  in 
1850,  there  were  1,074,  employing  100,000  hands. 
Only  fifty-five  years  ago  the  first  section  of  the  first 
railroad  in  this  country — the  Baltimore  and  Ohio- 
was  opened  to  a  distance  of  twenty-three  miles.*  We 
had,  Jan.  1,  1883,  115,634  miles  in  operation,  costing 

*  The  first  timid  experiment  in  railroads  was  a  tramway  in  Quincy, 
Mass.,  built  in  1826,  chiefly  by  Thomas  H.  Perkins  and  Gridley  Bryant, 
of  Boston.  Its  only  purpose  was  for  the  easier  conveyance — by  horses — 
of  building-stone  from  the  granite  quarries  of  Quincy  to  tide-water.  It 
was  the  germ,  however,  of  a  mighty  movement  in  this  country.  The  first 
railway  in  America  for  passengers  and  traffic — the  Baltimore  and  Ohio — 
was  chartered  by  the  Maryland  Legislature  in  March,  1827.  The  capital 
stock  at  first  was  only  half  a  million  dollars,  and  a  portion  of  it  was  sub 
scribed  by  the  State  and  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Horses  were  its  motive 
power,  even  after  sixty-five  miles  of  the  road  were  built.  But  in  1829 
Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  built  a  locomotive  in  Baltimore  which  weighed 
one  ton,  and  made  eighteen  miles  an  hour  on  a  trial  trip  to  Ellicott's  Mills. 
In  1830  there  were  twenty-three  miles  of  railway  in  the  United  States, 
which  were  increased  the  next  year  to  ninety-five,  in  1835,  to  one  thousand 
and  ninety-eight,  and  in  1840,  to  nearly  three  thousand. — Bryant's  History 
of  the  United  States,vol.  iv.,  p.  314, 


Chicago   as   It   Appeared   in    1833.      (See  p.   27. 


The   Great   Chicago   Fire,    1871.     (Loss  $150,000,0001     See  p.  37,) 


[38] 


30  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

$5,750,000,000.  It  was  only  forty-five  years  ago  that 
the  magnetic  telegraph  was  invented.  Now  the  esti 
mated  length  of  telegraph  wire  in  operation  is  over 
250,000  miles.  In  1833,  the  first  reaper  and  mower 
was  constructed,  and  in  1846  the  first  sewing-machine 
was  completed.  Think  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  both  of  these  classes  of  machines  now  in  use.  And 
there  are  now  more  lines  of  telegraph  and  railroad 
projected  and  in  process  of  construction  than  ever 
before,  and  greater  facilities  and  larger  plans  for  man 
ufactories  of  all  kinds  than  at  any  previous  point  of 
time.  And  should  these  industries  increase  in  the 
same  geometrical  ratio  for  a  few  years,  the  figures  we 
now  chronicle  would  then  read  about  as  the  records 
of  a  century  ago  now  read  to  us. 

Since  the  last  edition  of  this  work  was  issued,  the 
electric  light,  the  phonograph,  the  microphone,  and 
the  telephone  have  appeared  in  this  country,  and  as 
tonished  the  world  with  their  marvelous  achievements. 
And  recently  notices  appeared  in  the  papers  of  anew 
application  of  electricity,  by  which  one  is  actually  en 
abled  to  see  the  person  who  is  addressing  him  at  the 
other  end  of  the  telephone,  many  miles,  perhaps,  away. 
This  would  seem  to  be  reaching  the  last  possible  re 
sults  in  the  way  of  the  annihilation  of  time  and  space 
in  regard  to  both  hearing  and  seeing. 

We  take  the  following  article  from  "  The  Centen 
nial  History  of  the  United  States,"  published  in  1876 
at  Hartford,  Ct,  pp.  768-779  :- 

"Here,  on  the  verge  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  our  Republic,  let  us  take  a  brief  review  of  the  material  and  in 
tellectual  progress  of  our  country  during  the  first  hundred  y_..rs 
of  its  political  independence. 

"The  extent  of  the  conceded  domain  of  the  United  States,  in 


First  Dutch  Settlement  of  Wew  York  (New  Amsterdam)  1G12. 

(See  p.  27.) 


Wew  York  in  1648.     (See  p.  27.) 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  33 

1776,  was  not  more  than  Jialf  a  million  square  miles  ;  now  [when 
the  word  now  appears  in  this  relation  it  means  the  year  1875]  it  is 
more  than  three  million,  three  hundred  tJwusand  square  miles.  Its 
population  then  was  about  a  million  and  a  lialf ;  now  it  is  forty 
million. 

"The  products  of  the  soil  are  the  foundations  of  the  material 
wealth  of  a  nation.  It  has  been  eminently  so  with  us,  notwith 
standing  the  science  of  agriculture  and  the  construction  of  good 
implements  of  labor  were  greatly  neglected  until  the  early  part  of 
the  present  century. 

"A  hundred  years  ago  the  agricultural  interests  of  our  country 
were  mostly  in  the  hands  of  uneducated  men.  Science  was  not 
applied  to  husbandry.  A  spirit  of  improvement  was  scarcely 
known.  The  son  copied  the  ways  of  his  father.  He  worked  with 
no  other  implements  and  pursued  no  other  methods  of  cultivation  ; 
and  he  who  attempted  a  change  was  regarded  as  a  visionary  or  an 
innovator.  Very  little  associated  effort  for  improvement  in  the 
business  of  farming  was  then  seen.  The  first  association  for  such 
a  purpose  was  formed  in  the  South,  and  was  known  as  the  '  South 
Carolina  Agricultural  Society/  organized  in  1784.  A  similar  soci 
ety  was  formed  in  Pennsylvania  the  following  year.  Now  there 
are  State,  county,  and  even  town  agricultural  societies  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  Union. 

"Agricultural  implements  were  rude  and  simple.  They  con 
sisted  chiefly  of  the  plow,  harrow,  spade,  hoe,  hand-rake,  scythe, 
sickle,  and  wooden  fork.  The  plow  had  a  clumsy,  wrought-iron 
share  with  wooden  mold-board,  which  was  sometimes  plated  with 
old  tin  or  sheet-iron.  The  rest  of  the  structure  was  equally  clumsy; 
aind  the  implement  required  in  its  use,  twice  the  amount  of 
strength  of  man  and  beast  that  the  present  plow  does.  Improve 
ments  in  the  construction  of  plows  during  the  past  fifty  years  save 
to  the  country  annually,  in  work  and  teams,  at  least  $12,000,000. 
The  first  patent  for  a  cast-iron  plow  was  issued  in  1797.  To  the 
beginning  of  1875,  about  four  hundred  patents  have  been  granted. 

"A  hundred  years  ago  the  seed  was  sown  by  hand,  and  the  en 
tire  crop  was  harvested  by  hard,  manual  labor.  The  grass  was  cut 
with  a  scythe,  and  'cured'  and  gathered  with  a  fork  and  hand- 
rake.  The  grain  was  cut  with  a  sickle,  threshed  with  a  flail  or 
the  treading  of  horses,  and  was  cleared  of  the  chaff  by  a  large 
clamshell-shaped  fan  of  wicker-work,  used  in  a  gentle  breeze.  The 

3 


34:  •     THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

drills,  seed-sowers,  cultivators,  mowers,  reapers,  threshing- 
machines,  and  fanning-mills  of  our  day,  were  all  unknown. 
They  are  the  inventions  of  a  time  within  the  mem 
ory  of  living  men.     Abortive  attempts  were  made 
toward  the  close  of  the  last  century  to  introduce  a 
threshing-machine  from  England,  but  the  flail  held 
sway  until  two  generations  ago.     Indian  corn,  to 
bacco,  wheat,  rye,  oats,  potatoes,  and  hay  were  sta 
ple  products  Of  the  farm  a  hundred  years  ago.  Tim 
othy  and  orchard  grass  had  just  been  introduced. 
At  the  present  time  these  products  amount  annu 
ally,  on  an  average,  in  round  numbers,  as  follows : 
Indian  corn,  900,000,000  bushels  ;  wheat,  270,000,- 
000  ;  rye,  22,000,000  ;  oats,  300,000,000  ;  po 
tatoes,  165,000,000;    and  buckwheat  (intro 
duced  within  the  century)  15,000,000.  The  hay 
crop  averages  about  28,000,000  tons  ;  the  to 
bacco  crop,  about  265,000,000  pounds;  flax, 
28,000,000  pounds  ;  and  hemp,  12,- 
000   tons.      To   these   agricultural 
products  there   have   been   added, 
within  the  century,  barley,  cotton, 
and  sugar.  The  barley  crop  av 
erages  about  28,000,000  bush 
els  ;  cotton,  about  2,000,000,- 
000  pounds  ;  and  sugar, 
120,000   hogsheads    of 
1,000    pounds     each. 
The    expan- 
•  HS        sion    of    the 
COTTON 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  35 

culture  has  been  marvelous.  In  1784,  eight  hales  of  cotton  sent 
to  England  from  Charleston  were  seized  by  the  custom-house 
authorities  in  Liverpool,  on  the  ground  that  so  large  a  quantity 
could  not  have  come  from  the  United  States.  The  progress  of  its 
culture  was  slow  until  the  invention  of  the  gin,  by  Mr.  Whitney, 
for  clearing  the  seed  from  the  fiber.  It  did  the  work  of  many 
persons.  The  cultivation  of  cotton  rapidly  spread.  From  1792 
to  1800,  the  amount  of  cotton  raised  had  increased  from  138,000 
pounds  to  18,000,000  pounds,  all  of  which  was  wanted  in  Eng 
land,  where  improved  machinery  was  manufacturing  it  into  cloth. 
The  value  of  slave  labor  was  increased,  and  a  then  dying  insti 
tution  lived  in  vigor  until  killed  by  the  civil  war.  The  value  of  the 
cotton  crop  in  1792  was  $30,000  ;  now  its  average  annual  value  is 
about  $180,000,000. 

"Fruit  culture  a  hundred  years  ago  was  very  little  thought  of. 
Inferior  varieties  of  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums,  and  cherries 
were  cultivated  for  family  use.  It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  that  any  large  orchards  were  planted.  The 
cultivation  of  grapes  and  berries  was  almost  wholly  unknown 
fifty  years  ago.  The  first  horticultural  society  was  formed  in 
1829.  Before  that  time  fruit  was  not  an  item  of  commercial 
statistics  in  our  country.  Now,  the  average  annual  value  of  fruit 
is  estimated  at  $40,000,000.  Our  grape  crop  alone  exceeds  in 
value  $10,000,000. 

"Improvements  in  live  stock  have  all  been  made  within  the 
present  century.  The  native  breeds  were  descended  from  stock 
sent  over  to  the  colonies,,  and  were  generally  inferior.  In  1772 
Washington  wrote  in  his  diary:  'With  one  hundred  milch  cows 
on  my  farm,  I  have  to  buy  butter  for  my  family/  Now  11,000,- 
000  cows  supply  40,000,000  inhabitants  with  milk,  butter,  and 
cheese,  and  allow  large  exports  of  the  latter  article.  At  least 
225,000,000  gallons  of  milk  are  sold  annually.  The  annual  butter 
product  of  our  country  now  is  more  than  500,000,000  pounds,  and 
of  cheese,  70,000,000.  There  are  now  about  30,000,000  horned 
cattle  in  the  United  States,  equal  in  average  quality  to  those  of 
any  country  in  the  world. 

"A  hundred  years  ago,  mules  and  asses  were  chiefly  used  for 
farming  purposes  and  ordinary  transportation.  Carriage  horses 
were  imported  from  Europe.  Now,  our  horses  of  every  kind  are 
equal  to  those  of  any  other  country.  It  is  estimated  that  there 


36  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

are  about  10,000,000  horses  in  the  United  States,  or  one  to  every 
four  persons. 

"  Sheep  husbandry  has  greatly  improved.  The  inferior  breeds 
of  the  last  century,  raised  only  in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the 
table,  and  the  domestic  looms  in  the  manufacture  of  yarns  and 
coarse  cloth,  have  been  superseded  by  some  of  the  finer  varieties. 
Merino  sheep  were  introduced  early  in  this  century.  The  embargo 
before  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  establishment  of  manufactures 
here  afterward,  stimulated  sheep  and  wool  raising,  and  these  have 
been  important  items  in  our  national  wealth.  There  are  now 
about  80,000,000  sheep  in  the  United  States.  California  is  taking 
the  lead  as  a  wool-producing  State.  In  1870,  the  wool  product  of 
the  United  States  amounted  to  100,000,000  pounds. 

"Improvements  in  the  breed  of  swine  during  the  last  fifty  years 
have  been  very  great.  They  have  become  a  large  item  in  our  na 
tional  commercial  statistics.  At  this  time  there  are  about 
26,000,000  head  of  swine  in  this  country.  Enormous  quantities 
of  pork,  packed  and  in  the  form  of  bacon,  are  exported  annually. 

"These  brief  statistics  of  the  principal  products  of  agriculture, 
show  its  development  in  this  country  and  its  importance.  Daniel 
Webster  said,  'Agriculture  feeds  us;  to  a  great  extent  it  clothes 
us;  without  it  we  should  not  have  manufactures ;  we  should  not 
have  commerce.  They  all  stand  together  like  pillars  in  the  clus 
ter,  the  largest  in  the  center,  and  that  largest — AGRICULTURE/ 

"The  great  manufacturing  interests  of  our  country  are  the 
product  of  the  century  now  closing.  The  policy  of  the  British 
government  was  to  suppress  manufacturing  in  the  English- Amer 
ican  colonies,  and  cloth-making  was  confined  to  the  household. 
When  non-importation  agreements  cut  off  supplies  from  Great 
Britain,  the  Irish  flax-wheel  and  the  Dutch  wool-wheel  were 
made  active  in  families.  All  other  kinds  of  manufacturing  were 
of  small  account  in  this  country  until  the  concluding  decade  of 
the  last  century.  In  Great  Britain  the  inventions  of  Hargreaves, 
Arkwright,  and  Cromptou,  had  stimulated  the  cotton  and  woolen 
manufactures,  and  the  effects  finally  reached  the  United  States. 
Massachusetts  offered  a  grant  of  money  to  promote  the  establish 
ment  of  a  cotton-mill,  and  one  was  built  at  Beverly  in  1787,  the 
first  erected  in  the  United  States.  It  had  not  the  improved 
English-  machinery.  In  1789,  Samuel  Slater  came  from  England 
with  a  full  knowledge  of  that  machinery,  and  in  connection  with 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  37 

Messrs.  Almy  and  Brown  of  Providence,  R.  1.,  established  a  cot 
ton  factory  there  in  1790,  with  the  improved  implements.  Then 
was  really  begun  the  manufacture  of  cotton  in  the  United  States. 
Twenty  years  later,  the  number  of  cotton-mills  in  our  country  was 
one  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  with  90,000  spindles.  The  business 
has  greatly  expanded,  in  Massachusetts,  the  foremost  State  in 
the  manufacture  of  cotton,  there  are  now  over  two  hundred  mills, 
employing,  in  prosperous  times,  50,000  persons,  and  a  capital  of 
more  than  $30,000,000.  The  city  of  Lowell  was  founded  by  the 
erection  of  a  cotton-mill  there  in  1822  ;  and  there  the  printing  of 
calico  was  first  begun  in  the  United  States  soon  afterward. 

"With  wool,  as  with  cotton,  the  manufacture  into  cloth  was 
confined  to  households,  for  home  use,  until  near  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  The  wool  was  carded  between  two  cards  held  in 
the  hands  of  the  operator,  and  all  the  processes  were  slow  and 
crude.  In  1797,  Asa  Whittemore  of  Massachusetts  invented  a 
carding-machine,  and  this  led  to  the  establishment  of  woolen 
manufactures  outside  of  families.  In  his  famous  report  on  man 
ufactures,  in  1791,  Alexander  Hamilton  said  that  of  woolen  goods, 
hats  only  had  reached  maturity.  The  business  had  been  carried 
on  with  success  in  colonial  times.  The  wool  was  felted  by  hand, 
and  furs  were  added  by  the  same  slow  process.  This  manual 
labor  continued  until  a  little  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  when  it 
was  supplanted  by  machinery.  Immense  numbers  of  hats  of  ev 
ery  kind  are  now  made  in  our  country. 

"At  the  time  of  Hamilton's  report,  there  was  only  one  woolen- 
mill  in  the  United  States.  This  was  at  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
In  it  were  made  cloths  and  cassirneres.  Now,  woolen  factories 
may  be  found  in  almost  every  State  in  the  Union,  turning  out  an 
nually  the  finest  cloths,  cassimeres,  flannels,  carpets,  and  every 
variety  of  goods  made  of  wool.  In  this  business,  as  in  cotton, 
Massachusetts  has  taken  the  lead.  The  value  of  manufactured 
woolens  in  the  United  States,  at  the  close  of  the  civil  war,  was 
estimated  at  about  $60,000,000.  "The  supply  of  wool  in  the 
United  States  has  never  been  equal  to  the  demand. 

"  The  smelting  of  iron  ore  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  has  be 
come  an  immense  business  in  our  country.  The  development  of 
ore  deposits  and  of  coal  used  in  smelting,  are  among  the  marvels 
of  our  history.  English  navigation  laws  discouraged  iron  man 
ufacture  in  the  colonies.  Only  blast-furnaces  for  making  pig- 


38  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

iron  were  allowed.  This  product  was  nearly  all  sent  to  England 
in  exchange  for  manufactured  articles  ;  and  the  whole  amount  of 
such  exportation,  at  the  beginning  of  the  old  war  for  inde 
pendence,  was  less  than  8,000  tons  annually.  The  colonists  were 
wholly  dependent  upon  Great  Britain  for  articles  manufactured 
of  iron  and  steel,  excepting  rude  implements  made  by  blacksmiths 
for  domestic  use.  During  the  war,  the  Continental  Congress 
were  compelled  to  establish  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel. 
These  were  chiefly  in  Northern  New  Jersey,  the  Hudson  High 
lands,  and  Western  Connecticut,  where  excellent  ore  was  found, 
and  forests  in  abundance  for  making  charcoal.  The  first  use  of 
anthracite  coal  for  smelting  iron  was  in  the  Continental  Armory 
at  Carlisle,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1775.  But  charcoal  was  univers 
ally  used  until  1840  for  smelting  ores. 

"Now,  iron  is  manufactured  in  our  country  in  every  form 
from  a  nail  to  a  locomotive,  A  vast  number  of  machines  have 
been  invented  for  carrying  on  these  manufactures  ;  and  the  pro 
ducts  in  cutlery,  fire-arms,  railway  materials,  and  machinery  of 
every  kind,  employ  vast  numbers  of  men  and  a  great  amount  of 
capital.  Our  locomotive  builders  are  regarded  as  the  best  in  the 
world ;  and  no  nation  on  the  globe  can  compete  with  us  in  the 
construction  of  steam-boats  of  every  kind,  from  the  iron-clad  war 
steamer  to  the  harbor  tug. 

"  In  the  manufacture  of  copper,  silver,  and  gold,  there  has  been 
great  progress.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  no  manufactures 
of  the  kind  existed  in  our  country.  Now,  the  manufacture  of 
copper-ware  yearly,  of  every  kind,  and  jewelry  and  watches,  has 
become  a  large  'item  in  our  commercial  tables. 

"The  manufacture  of  paper  is  a  very  large  item  in  the  business 
of  our  country.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  there  were  only 
three  mills  in  the  United  States.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  a 
demand  sprung  up,  and  Wilcox,  in  his  mill  near  Philadelphia, 
made  the  first  writing-paper  produced  in  this  country.  He  man 
ufactured  the  thick,  coarse  paper  on  which  the  continental  money 
was  printed.  So  early  as  1794  the  business  had  so  increased  that 
there  were  in  Pennsylvania  alone  forty-eight  paper-mills.  There 
has  been  a  steady  increase  in  the  business  ever  since.  Within  the 
last  twenty-five  years,  that  increase  has  been  enormous,  and  yet 
not  sufficient  to  meet  the  demand.  Improvements  in  printing- 
presses  have  cheapened  the  production  of  books  and  newspapers, 


A    CENTURY'S  PROGRESS,  39 

and  the  circulation  of  these  has  greatly  increased.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  amount  of  paper  now  manufactured  annually  in  the  United 
States  for  these,  for  paper-hangings,  and  for  wrapping-paper  is 
full  800,000,000  pounds.  The  supply  of  raw  material  here  has  not 
been  equal  to  the  demand,  and  rags  to  the  value  of  about  $2,000,- 
000  in  a  year  have  been  imported. 

"The  manufacture  of  ships,  carriages,  wagons,  clocks  and 
watches,  pins,  leather,  glass,  Indian  rubber,  silk,  wood,  sewing- 
machines,  and  a  variety  of  other  things  wholly  unknown  or  feebly 
carried  on  a  hundred  years  ago,,  now  flourish,  and  form  very  im 
portant  items  in  our  domestic  commerce.  The  sewing-machine  is 
an  American  invention,  and  the  first  really  practical  one  was  first 
offered  to  the  public  by  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  about  thirty  years  ago. 
A  patent  had  been  obtained  for  one  five  years  before.  Great  im 
provements  have  been  made,  and  now  a  very  extensive  business 
in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  sewing-machines  is  carried  on  by 
different  companies,  employing  a  large  amount  of  capital  and 
costly  machinery,  and  a  great  number  of  persons. 


A   Mining   Scene. 

"The  mining  interests  of  the  United  States  have  become  an  em 
inent  part  of  the  national  wealth.  The  extraction  of  lead,  iron, 
copper,  the  precious  metals,  and  coal,  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth, 
is  a  business  that  has  almost  wholly  grown  up  within  the  last  hun 
dred  years.  In  1754  a  lead  mine  was  worked  in  Southwestern  Vir 
ginia  ;  and  in  1778,  Dubuque,  a  French  miner,  worked  lead  ore 
deposits  on  the  western  bank  of  the  upper  Mississippi.  The  Jes- 


40  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

uit  missionaries  discovered  copper  in  the  Lake  Superior  region 
more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  that  remains  the  chief 
source  of  our  native  copper  ore.  That  metal  is  produced  in  smaller 
quantities  in  other  States,  chiefly  in  the  West  and  Southwest. 

"A  lust  for  gold,  and  the  knowledge  of  its  existence  in  America, 
was  the  chief  incentive  to  emigration  to  these  shores.  But  within 
the  domain  of  our  Republic,  very  little  of  it  was  found,  until  that 
domain  was  extended  far  toward  the  Pacific  ocean.  It  was  unsus 
pected  until  long  after  the  Revolution.  Finally,  gold  was  discov 
ered  among  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina, 
and  in  Georgia.  North  Carolina  was  the  lirst  State  in  the  Union 
to  send  gold  to  the  mint  in  Philadelphia.  Its  first  small  contribu 
tion  was  in  1804.  From  that  time  until  1823  the  average  amount 
produced  from  North  Carolina  mines  did  not  exceed  $2,500  annu 
ally.  Virginia's  first  contribution  was  in  1829,  when  that  of  North 
Carolina,  for  that  year,  was  $128,000.  Georgia  sent  its  first  con 
tribution  in  1830.  It  amounted  to  $212,000.  The  product  so  in 
creased  that  branch  mints  were  established  in  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia  in  1837  and  1838,  and  another  in  New  Orleans. 

"  In  1848,  gold  was  discovered  on  the  American  fork 
of  the  Sacramento  River  in  California,  and  soon  after 
ward  elsewhere  in  that  region.    A  gold  fever  seized  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  thousands  rushed  to 
California  in  search  of  the  precious  metals.     Within 
a  year  from  the  discovery,  nearly  50,000  people  were 
there.     Less  than  five  years  afterward,  California,  in 
one  year,  sent  to  the  United  States  mint  full  $40,000,- 
000  in  gold.     Its  entire  gold  product  to  this  time  is  es 
timated  at  more  than  $800,000,000.     Over  all  the  far 
Western   States   and  Territories  the  precious 
metals,  gold  and  silver,  seem  to  be  scattered  in 
profusion,  and  the  amount  of  mineral 
wealth  yet  to  be  discovered  there  seems 
to  be    incalculable.     Our   coal 
fields  seem  to  be  inexhaustible  ; 
^  and  out  of  the  bosom  of 

jfej£_      the  earth,  in  portions  of 
^^ftfp^si,  our      country, 

^^HH|||_          flow  millions  of 
SS-    barrels      annu- 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS,  41 

ally  of  petroleum,  or  rock-oil,  affording  the  cheapest  illuminating 
material  in  the  world. 

"Mineral  coal  was  first  discovered  and  used  in  Pennsylvania  at 
the  period  of  the  Revolution.  A  boat  load  was  sent  down  the 
Susquehanna  from  Wilkesbarre  for  the  use  of  the  Continental 
works  at  Carlisle.  But  it  was  not  much  used  before  the  war  of 
1812  ;  and  the  regular  business  of  mining  this  fuel  did  not  become 
a  part  of  the  commerce  of  the  country  before  the  year  1820,  when 
365  tons  were  sent  to  Philadelphia.  At  the  present  time  the 
amount  of  coal  sent  to  market  from  the  American  mines,  of  all 
kinds,  is  equal  to  full  15,000,000  tons  annually. 

"The  commerce  of  the  United  States  has  had  a  wonderful 
growth.  Its  most  active  development  was  seen  in  New  England. 
British  legislation  imposed  heavy  burdens  upon  it  in  colonial  times, 
and  like  manufactures,  it  was  greatly  depressed.  The  New  Eng- 
landers  built  many  vessels  for  their  own  use,  but  more  for  others  ; 
and  just  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  there  was 
quite  a  brisk  trade  carried  on  between  the  English- American  colo 
nies  and  the  West  Indies,  as  well  as  with  the  mother  country. 
The  colonists  exported  tobacco,  lumber,  shingles,  staves,  masts, 
turpentine,  hemp,  flax,  pot  and  pearl  ashes,  salted  fish  in  great 
quantities,  some  corn,  live  stock,  pig-iron,  and  skins  and  furs  pro 
cured  by  traffic  with  the  Indians.  Whale  and  cod-fishing  was  an 
important  branch  of  commerce.  In  the  former,  there  were  160 
vessels  employed  at  the  beginning  of  1775,  and  sperm  candles  and 
whale  oil  were  exported  to  Great  Britain.  In  exchange  for  New 
England  products,  a  large  amount  of  molasses  was  brought  from, 
the  West  Indies,  and  made  into  rum  to  sell  to  the  Indians  and  fish 
ermen,  and  to  exchange  for  slaves  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  The 
entire  exports  of  the  colonies  in  the  year  1770  amounted  in  value 
to  $14,262,000. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  British  government  refused  to  en 
ter  into  commercial  relations  with  the  United  States  government, 
believing  that  the  weak  league  of  States  would  soon  be  dissolved ; 
but  when,  a  vigorous  national  government  was  formed  in  1789, 
Great  Britain,  for  the  first,  sent  a  resident  minister  to  our  govern 
ment,  and  entered  into  a  commercial  arrangement  with  us.  Mean 
while  a  brisk  trade  had  sprung  up  between  the  colonies  and  Great 
Britain,  as  well  as  with  other  countries.  From  1784  to  1790  the 
exports  from  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain  amounted  to  $33,- 


42  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

000,000,  and  the  imports  from  Great  Britain  to  $87,000,000.  At 
tlfe  same  time  several  new  and  important  branches  of  industry 
had  appeared,  and  flourished  with  great  rapidity. 

"From  that  time  the  expansion  of  American  commerce  was 
marvelous,  in  spite  of  the  checks  it  received  from  British  jeal 
ousy,  wars,  piracies  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  elsewhere,  and 
the  ffects  of  embargoes.  The  tonnage  of  American  ships,  which 
in  1789  was  201,562,  was  in  1870  more  than  7,000,000.  The  ex 
ports  from  the  United  States  in  1870  amounted  to  about  $464,- 
000,000,  and  the  imports  to  about  $395,000,000  in  gold. 

"The  domestic  commerce  of  the  United  States  is  immense.  A 
vast  sea-coast  line,  great  lakes,  large  rivers,  and  many  canals,  af 
ford  scope  for  inter-State  commerce  and  with  adjoining  countries, 


View   on   the   Erie   Canal. 

not  equaled  by  those  of  any  nation.  The  canal  and  railway  sys 
tems  in  the  United  States  are  the  product  chiefly  of  the  present 
century.  So  also  is  navigation  by  steam,  on  which  river  com 
merce  chiefly  relies  for  transportation.  This  was  begun  in  the 
year  1807.  The  first  canals  made  in  this  country  were  two  short 
ones,  for  a  water  passage  around  the  South  Hadley  and  Montague 
Falls,  in  Massachusetts.  These  were  constructed  in  1792.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  Inland  Lock  Navigation  Companies  in 
the  State  of  New  York  began  their  work.  The  Middlesex  Canal, 
connecting  Lowell  with  Boston  Harbor,  was  completed  in  1808, 
and  the  great  Erie  Canal,  363  miles  in  length,  was  finished  in  1825, 
at  a  cost  of  almost  $8,000,000.  The  aggregate  length  of  canals 
built  in  the  United  States  is  3,200  miles. 

"The   first   railway   built  in  the  United  States  was  one  three 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS. 


miles  in  length,  that  connected  the 
granite  quarries  at  Quincy,  Mass*, 
with  the  Neponset  River.  It  was 
completed  in  1827  ;  horse  power 
was  used.  The  first  use  of  a  loco 
motive  in  this  country  was  in  1829, 
when  one  was  put  upon  a  railway 
that  connected  the  coal  mines  of 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
Company  with  Honesdale.*  Now, 
railways  form  a  thick  net-work  all 
over  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  are  rapidly  spread 
ing  over  the  States  and  Territories 
beyond,  to  the^Pacific  ocean.  To 
these  facilities  for  commercial  op 
erations  must  be  added  the  Elec 
tro-Magnetic  Telegraph,  an  American  invention,  as  a  method 
of  transmitting  intelligence,  and  giving  warning  signals  to  the 
shipping  and  agricultural  interests  concerning  the  actual  and 
probable  state  of  the  weather  each  day.  The  first  line,  forty 
miles  in  length,  was  constructed  between  Baltimore  and  Wash 
ington  in  1844.  Now  the  lines  are  extended  to  every  part  of  our 
Union,  and  all  over  the  civilized  world,  traversing  oceans  and  riv 
ers,  and  bringing  Persia  and  New  York  within  one  hour's  space 
of  intercommunication. 

"Banking  institutions  and  insurance  companies  are  intimately 
connected  with  commerce.  The  first  bank  in  the  United  States 
was  established  in  1781,  as  a  financial  aid  to  the  government.  It 
was  called  the  Bank  of  North  America.  The  Bank  of  New  York 
and  Bank  of  Massachusetts  were  established  soon  afterward.  On 
the  recommendation  of  Hamilton,  in  1791,  a  national  bank  was 
established  at  Philadelphia,  with  a  capital  of  $10,000,000,  of 
which  sum  the  government  subscribed  $2,000,000.  Various  bank 
ing  systems,  under  State  charters,  have  since  been  tried.  During 
the  civil  war,  a  system  of  national  banking  was  established,  by 
which  there  is  a  uniform  paper  currency  throughout  the  Union. 
The  number  of  national  banks  at  the  close  of  1863  was  66 ;  the 


*  This  was  for  freight  only.     The  first  passenger  railway  was  opened 
in  1S30,  as  stated  on  page  27. 


44  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

number  at  the  close  of  1874  was  not  far  from  1,700,  involving 
capital  to  the  amount  of  almost  $500,000,000. 

"Fire,  marine,  and  life  insurance  companies  have   flourished 
greatly  in  the  United  States.     The  first  incorporated  company  was 


established  in  1792,  in  Philadelphia,  and  known  as  the  Tire  In 
surance  Company  of  North  America/  Another  was  established 
in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  in  1799,  and  another  in  New  York 
in  1806.  The  first  life  insurance  company  was  chartered  in  Mas- 


3  - 

I  % 

I  a 
=  § 


&     3 


a  ? 

03  2 

f  5 

£  £ 

5'  *•* 

aq  0 

—  B 


a  = 
II 


46  THE  MAKVEL    OP  NATIONS. 

sacliusetts  in  1825,  and  the  '  New  York  Life  Insurance  and  Trust 
Company '  was  established  in  1829.  All  others  are  of  recent  or 
ganization.  As  a  rule,  the  business  of  insurance  of  every  kind  is 
profitable  to  the  insurers  and  the  insured.  The  amount  of  capital 
engaged  in  it  is  enormous.  The  fire  risks  alone,  at  the  close  of 
1874,  amounted  to  about  $200,000,000. 

"  Our  growth  in  population  has  been  steadily  increased  by  im 
migration  from  Europe.  It  began  very  moderately  after  the  Rev 
olution.  From  1784  to  1794  the  average  number  of  immigrants  a 
year  was  4,000.  During  the  last  ten  years  the  number  of  persons 
who  have  immigrated  to  the  United  States  from  Europe  is  es 
timated  at  over  2,000,000,  who  brought  with  them,  in  the  aggre 
gate,  $200,000,000  in  money.  This  capital  and  the  productive 
labor  of  the  immigrants  have  added  much  to  the  wealth  of  our 
country.  This  immigration  and  wealth  is  less  than  during  the 
ten  years  preceding  the  civil  war,  during  which  time  there  came 
to  this  country  from  Europe  2,814,554  persons,  bringing  with 
them  an  average  of  at  least  $100,  or  an  aggregate  of  over  $281, 
000,000. 

"  The  Arts,  Sciences,  and  Invention  have  made  a  great  progress 
in  our  country  during  the  last  hundred  years.  These  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolution,  were  of  little  account  in  estimating  the  ad 
vance  of  the  race.  The  practitioners  of  the  Arts  of  Design,  at 
that  period,  were  chiefly  Europeans.  Of  native  artists,  C.  W. 
Peale  and  J.  S.  Copley  stood  at  the  head  of  painters.  There  were 
no  sculptors,  and  no  engravers  of  any  eminence.  Architects,  in 
the  proper  sense,  there  were  none.  After  the  Revolution  a  few 
good  painters  appeared,  and  these  have  gradually  increased  in 
numbers  and  excellence,  without  much  encouragement,  except  in 
portraiture,  until  within  the  last  twenty-five  years.  We  have 
now  good  sculptors,  architects,  engravers,  and  lithographers; 
and  in  all  of  these  departments,  as  well  as  in  photography,  very 
great  progress  has  been  made  within  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years. 
In  wood  engraving,  especially,  the  improvement  has  been  won 
derful.  Forty  years  ago  there  were  not  more  than  a  dozen  prac 
titioners  of  the  art  in  this  country ;  now  there  are  between  four 
and  five  hundred.  At  the  head  of  that  class  of  artists  stands  the 
name  of  Dr.  Alexander  Anderson,  who  was  the  first  man  who  en 
graved  on  wood  in  the  United  States.  He  died  in  1870  at  the 
age  of  ninety-five  years.  In  bank-note  engraving  we  have  at- 


A    CENTURY'S  PROGRESS.  47 

tained  to  greater  excellence  than  any  other  people.  It  is  con 
sidered  the  most  perfect  branch  of  the  art  in  design  and  execu 
tion. 

"  Associations  have  been  formed  for  improvements  in  the  Arts 
of  Design.  The  first  was  organized  in  Philadelphia  in  1791,  by 
C.  W.  Peale,  in  connection  with  Ceracchi,  the  Italian  sculptor. 
It  failed.  In  1802  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  was  or 
ganized  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  in  1807  the  Pennsylvania 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  yet  in  existence,  was  established  in  Phila 
delphia.  In  1826  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  was  su- 


A  Woo«l  Engraver  plying  liis  Profession. 

perseded  by  the  National  Academy  of  Design,  in  the  city  of  New 
Yorkj  which  is  now  a  flourishing  institution. 

"In  education  and  literature  our  progress  has  kept  pace  with 
other  things.  At  the  very  beginning  of  settlements,  the  common 
school  was  made  the  special  care  of  the  State  in  New  England. 
Not  so  much  attention  was  given  to  this  matter  elsewhere  in  the 
colonies.  The  need  of  higher  institutions  of  learning  was  early 
felt ;  and  eighteen  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  from 
the  Mayflower,  Harvard  College  was  founded.  When  the  war 
for  independence  began,  there  were  nine  colleges  in  the  col 
onies  ;  namely,  Harvard,  at  Cambridge,  Mass. ;  William  and 


48  vufi  M Any  EL  OF 

Mary,  at  "Williamsburg,  Ya.;  Yale,  at  New  Haven,  Conn.;  College 
of   New  Jersey,    at   Princeton ;    University   of   Pennsylvania,    at 
Philadelphia ;  King's  (now  Columbia),  in  the  city  of  New  York ; 
Brown  University,  at  Providence,  R.  I.;  Dartmouth,  at  Hanover,', 
N.  H.;  and  Rutgers    at  .New  Brunswick,  JN.  J.     There  are  now  \ 
about  300  colleges  in  the  United  States. 

"At  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  teaching  in  the  common 
schools  was  very  meager,  and  remained  so  for  full  thirty  years. 
Only  reading,  spelling,  and  arithmetic  were  regularly  taught. 
The  Psalter,  the  JNew  Testament,  and  the  Bible  constituted  the 
reading-books.  No  history  was  read;  no  geography  or  grammar 
was  taught;  and  until  the  putting  forth  of  Webster's  spelling- 
book  in  1783,  pronunciation  was  left  to  the  judgment  of  teachers. 
That  book  produced  a  revolution. 

"  As  the  nation  advanced  in  wealth  and  intelligence,  the  ne 
cessity  for  correct  popular  education  became  more  and  more 
manifest,  and  associated  efforts  were  made  for  the  improvement  of 
the  schools  by  providing  for  the  training  of  teachers,  under  the 
respective  phase  of  Teachers'  Associations,  Educational  Period 
icals,  Normal  Schools,  and  Teachers'  Institutes.  The  first  of 
these  societies  in  this  country  was  the  'Middlesex  County  Asso 
ciation  for  the  Improvement  of  Common  Schools,'  established  at 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  in  1799.  But  little  of  importance  was 
done  in  that  direction  until  within  the  last  forty-five  years.  Now, 
provision  is  made  in  all  sections  of  the  Union,  not  only  for 
the  support  of  common  schools,  but  for  training-schools  for 
teachers.  Since  the  civil  war,  great  efforts  have  been  made  to 
establish  common-school  systems  in  the  late  slave-labor  States, 
that  should  include  among  the  beneficiaries  the  colored  popula 
tion.  Much  has  been  done  in  that  regard. 

"Yery  great  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  public  schools  in  cities  within  the  last  thirty 
years.  Free  schools  are  rapidly  spreading  their  beneficent  in 
fluence  over  the  whole  Union,  and  in  some  States  laws  have  been 
made  that  compel  all  children  of  a  certain  age  to  go  to  school. 
Institutions  for  the  special  culture  of  young  women  in  all  that 
pertains  to  college  education,  have  been  established  within  a  few 
years.  The  pioneer  in  this  work  is  Yassar  College,  at  Pough-- 
keepsie,  N.  Y.,  which  was  first  opened  in  the  year  1865. 

"Besides  the  ordinary  means  for  education,  others  have  been 


\ 


V 


CENTURY' 8   PROGRESS. 


established  for  special  purposes.  There  are  Law,  Scientific,  Med 
ical,  Theological,  Military,  Commercial,  an/J  Agricultural  schools, 
and  seminaries  for  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind.  In  many  States  school- 
district  libraries  have  been  established  There  are  continually 
enlarging  means  provided  for  the  education  of  the  whole  people. 
Edmund  Burke  said,  '  Education  is  ttte  cheap  defense  of  nations/ 

"  $ur  literature  is  as  varied  as 
the  tastes  of  the  people.  No  sub 
ject  escapes  the  attention  of  our 
native  scholars  and  authors.  At 
the  period  of  the  Revolution, 
books  were  few  in  variety  and 
numbers.  The  larger  portion  of 
them  were  devoted  to  theological 
subjects.  Booksellers  were  few, 
and  were  only  found  in  the  larger 
cities.  Various  subjects  were  dis 
cussed  in  pamphlets,  not  generally 
in  newspapers,  as  now.  The  edi 
tions  of  books  were  small,  and 

as  stereotyping  was  unknown,  they  became  rare  in  a  few  years, 
because  there  was  only  a  costly  way  of  reproduction. 

"  In  the  year  1801,  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  the  book  traJe 
by  the  formation  of  the  '  American  Company  of  Booksellers ' — a 
kind  of  'union/  Twenty  years  later,  competition  broke  up  the 
association.  Before  the  war  of  1812,  the  book  trade  in  the 
United  States  was  small.  Only  school  books  had  very  large 
sales.  Webster's  spelling-book  was  an  example  of  the  increas 
ing  demand  for  such  helps  to  education.  During  the  twenty 
years  he  was  engaged  on  his  dictionary,  the  income  from  his 
spelling-book  supported  him  and  his  family.  It  was  published 
in  1783,  and  its  sales  have  continually  increased  to  the  pres 
ent  time,  when  they  amount  to  over  1,000,000  copies  a  year. 
Other  school  books  of  every  kind  now  have  an  immense  an 
nual  circulation.  The  general  book  trade  in  this  country  is 
now  immense  in  the  numbers  of  volumes  issued  and  the  capital 
and  labor  employed.  Readers  are  rapidly  increasing.  An  ardent 
thirst  for  knowledge  or  entertainment  to  be  found  in  books, 
magazines,  and  newspapers,  makes  a  very  large  demand  for  these 
vehicles,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  produce  wide-spread  in- 


50 


THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 


telligence.  The  magazine  literature,  now  generally  healthful,  is 
a  powerful  coadjutor  of  books  in  this  popular  culture  ;  and  the 
newspaper,  not  always  so  healthful,  supplies  the  daily  and 
weekly  demand  for  ephemerals  in  literature  and  general  knowl 
edge.  To  meet  that  demand  required  great  improvements  in 
printing  machinery,  and  these  have  been  supplied. 

"  The  printing-press, 
at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  is  shown 
in  that  used  by  Frank 
lin,  in  which  the 
pressure  force  was  ob 
tained  by  means  of  a 
screw.  The  ink  was 
applied  by  huge  balls  ; 
and  an  expert  work 
man  could  furnish 
about  fifty  impressions 
an  hour.  This  was 
improved  by  Earl 
Stanhope  in  1815,  by 
substituting  for  the 
screw  a  jointed  lever. 
Then  came  inking 
machines,  and  one 
man  could  work  off 


Old  Franklin  (Ramag-e)  Press. 


250  copies  an  hour.  Years  passed  on,  and  the  cylinder  press 
was  invented ;  and  in  1847  it  was  perfected  by  Richard  M.  Hoe  of 
New  York.  This  has  been  further  improved  lately,  and  a  print 
ing-press  is  now  used  which  will  strike  off  15,000  newspapers, 
printed  on  both  sides,  every  hour. 

"  The  newspapers  printed  in  the  United  States  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  Revolution  were  few  in  number,  small  in  size,  and 
very  meager  in  information  of  any  kind.  They  were  issued 
weekly,  semi-weekly,  and  tri-weekly.  The  first  daily  newspaper 
Issued  in  this  country  was  the  American  Daily  Advertiser,  estab 
lished  in  Philadelphia  in  1784.  In  1775  there  were  87  newspa 
pers  and  periodicals  in  the  United  States,  with  an  aggregate  is 
sue  that  year  of  1,200,000  copies.  In  1870  the  number  of  daily 


52  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

newspapers  in  the  United  States  was  542  ;  and  of  weeklies,  4,425. 
Of  the  dailies,  800,000,000  were  issued  that  year;  of  the  weeklies, 
600,000,000;  and  of  other  serial  publications,  100,000,000;  making 
an  aggregate  of  full  1,500,000,000  copies.  To  these  figures  should 


Battle    Creek   Tabernacle. 

This  commodious  edifice  for  divine  worship,  is  105  by  130  feet,  with  en 
trances  at  each  corner,  and  has  a  seating  capacity  for  3,200  persons.  It 
has  a  gallery  on  three  sides,  and  three  large  vestrys,  which  may  be 
come  a  part  of  the  main  auditorium  by  simply  raising  the  sliding  par 
titions,  which  are  of  ground  glass.  This  beautiful  structure  is  espe 
cially  convenient  for  Sabbath-  school  work  and  General  Conferences, 
and  is  frequently  used  for  moral  lectures  and  the  commencement  ex 
ercises  of  the  Battle  Creek  Public  Schools. 

be  made  a  large  addition  at  the  close  of  1886*  There  are  now 
about  forty  newspapers  in  the  United  States  which  have  existed 
over  fifty  years. 


A    CENTURY'S  PROGRESS. 


"In  the 
providing  of 
means  for 
moral  and 
religious  cul 
ture  and  be 
nevolent  en 
terprises, 
there  has 
been  great 
progress  in 
this  country 
during  the 
century  now 
closing.  The 
various  re 
ligious  de 
nominations 
have  in-  Ministering  to  the  Fallen. 

creased  in  membership  fully  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  pop 
ulation.  Asylums  of  every  kind  for  the  unfortunate  and  friendless 
have  been  multiplied  in  an  equal  ratio,  and  provision  is  made  for  all. 
[The  vignettes  on  this  page  show  common  works  of  philanthropy.  ] 

"  One  of  the  most 
conspicuous  exam 
ples  of  the  growth  of 
our  Republic  is  pre 
sented  by  the  postal 
service.  Dr.  Frank 
lin  had  been  Colonial 
Postmaster  -  General, 
and  he  was  appointed 
to  the  same  office  for 
one  year  by  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  in 
the  summer  of  1775. 
He  held  the  position 
a  little  more  than  a 
year,  and  at  the  end 
of  his  official  term 
Home  lor  ii&«  Homeless.  there  were  about  50 


M  Tfffi  ttA&YEt  OP 

post-offices  in  the  United  States.  All  the  accounts  of  the  General 
Post-Office  Department  during  that  period  were  contained  in  a 
small  book  consisting  of  about  two  quires  of  foolscap  paper, 
wThich  is  preserved  in  the  Department  at  Washington  City. 
Through  all  the  gloomy  years  of  the  weak  Confederacy,  the  bus 
iness  of  the  Department  was  comparatively  light  ;  and  when  the 
national  government  began  its'  career  in  1789,  there  were  only 
about  seventy-five  post-offices,  with  an  aggregate  length  of  post- 
roads  of  about  1,900  miles.  The  annual  income  was  $28,000,  and 
the  annual  expenditures  were  $32,000.  The  mails  were  carried 
by  postmen  on  horseback,  and  sometimes  on  foot.  Now  the  num 
ber  of  post-offices  is  over  33,000;  the  aggregate  length  of  post- 
routes  is  256,000  miles  ;  the  annual  revenue,  $23,000,000,  and  the 
annual  expenditures,  $29,000,000. 

"  We  may  safely  claim  for  our  people  and  country  a  progress 
in  all  that  constitutes  a  vigorous  and  prosperous  nation  during 
the  century  just  passed,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  that  of  any 
other  on  the  globe.  And  to  the  inventive  genius  and  skill  of  'the 
Americans  may  be  fairly  awarded  a  large  share  of  the  honor  ac 
quired  by  the  construction  of  machinery,  which  has  so  largely 
taken  the  place  of  manual  labor.  In  that  progress  the  American 
citizen  beholds  a  tangible  prophecy  of  a  brilliant  future  for  his 
country." 

The  following  paragraphs  which  went  the  rounds 
of  the  papers  a  few  years  ago,  present  a  good  sum 
mary  of  the  success  "  Brother  Jonathan  "  has  achieved 
thus  far  in  his  career  : — 

"Brother  Jonathan  commenced  business  in  1776,  with  thirteen 
States  and  815,615  square  miles  of  territory,  which  was  occupied 
by  about  3,000,000  of  civilized  human  beings.  He  has  now  a 
family  of  43,000,000,  who  occupy  thirty-seven  States  and  nine 
Territories,  which  embrace  over  3,000,000  square  miles.  He 
has  65,000  miles  of  railroad,  more  than  sufficient  to  reach  twice 
and  a  half  around  the  globe.  The  value  of  his  annual  agricult 
ural  productions  is  $2,500,000,000,  and  his  gold  mines  are  capable 
of  producing  $70,000,000  a  year.  He  has  more  than  1,000  cotton 
factories,  580  daily  newspapers,  4,300  weeklies,  and  625  monthly 
publications.  He  has  also  many  other  things  too  numerous  and 
too  notorious  to  mention." 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  55 

"The  United  States  of  America  issues  more  newspapers,  in 
number  and  in  aggregate  circulation,  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
world  combined.  America  outnumbers  the  press  of  Great  Britain, 
six  to  one,  and  has  nearly  half  a  dozen  daily  papers  which  print 
more  copies  every  issue  than  doe ,  the  London  Times." 

The  rate  of  growth  maintained  in  this  country 
since  the  compilation  of  the  foregoing1  figures  in 
1876,  may  be  best  shown  by  comparing  them  with 
the  figures  on  some  of  the  items  named  above  from 
the  census  of  1SSO.  Thus  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  at  this  last-named  date,  possessed,  in  round 
numbers,  38,000,000  cattle  and  48,000,000  swine. 
This  is  a  larger  number  of  cattle  than  any  other  na 
tion  can  show,  India  having  but  30,000,000,  and  Rus 
sia  29,000,000.  We  have  10,500,000  horses,  being 
surpassed  in  this  respect  only  by  Russia,  which  has 
20,000,000.  We  come  fourth  in  the  list  of  sheep-raising 
nations,  having  36,000,000  ;  but  in  the  food-produc 
ing  animals,  cattle  and  hogs,  our  country  leads  the 
world. 

According  to  returns  for  the  year  1882,  our  corn 
crop  amounted  to  2,700,000,000  bushels  ;  wheat,  520,- 
000,000  bushels  ;  hay,  32,000,000  tons  ;  coal,  80,000,- 
000  tons  ;  petroleum,  27,500,000  barrels  ;  pig  iron, 
4,000,000  tons  ;  manufactured  steel  rails,  900,000 
tons. 

And  nature  herself,  by  the  physical  features  she 
has  stamped  upon  our  country,  has  seemed  to  lay  it 
out  as  a  field  for  national  development  on  the  most 
magnificent  scale.  Here  we  have  the  largest  lakes, 
the  longest  rivers,  the  mightiest  cataracts,  the  deep 
est  caves,  the  broadest  and  most  fertile  prairies,  and 
the  richest  mines  of  gold  and  iron  and  coal  and  cop 
per,  to  be  found  upon  the  globe. 


/r 


S'g  of 

iiill 

-^ 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS. 


One  of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  world  is 
the  lumber  business,  the  traffic  in  timber  for  building 
houses,  ships,  etc.,  and  manufacturing  purposes.    The 
principal  nations  engaged  in  this  business,  outside  of 
the  United  States,  are  Norway,  Russia,  Germany, 
British  North  America,  and  to  some  extent,  France. 
,  Tn  our  own  country  immense  lumber  districts  are 
found  in  Maine,  New  York,  Pennsylva 
nia,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Min 
nesota,  Indiana,    some  portions   of  the 
Southern  States,  California,  and  Oregon. 
The  more  important  centers  of  the  trade 
are  Bangor,  Me.,    Boston,  Chi 
cago,  the   lake  ports  generally, 
Albany,  N.   Y.,   Savannah,  and 
Brunswick,  Ga.,  and  Pensacola, 
Florida.     There   were   in  1870, 
26,945  lumber  manufactories, 
employing  163,637  men,    using 
$161,500,273  invested 
capital,  paying  $46,231,- 
328  in  wages,  and  pro 
ducing    $252,339,029 
worth  of  lumber. 
Grave  fears  are  ex 
cited  by  the  mete 
orological    effects 
which  are  likely  to 
follow  this  remov- 
t/w^       al   of    the 
>.     forests. 


V 


58  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

"When  America  was  discovered,  there  were  but  sixty  millions 
of  gold  in  Europe.  California  and  the  Territories  around  her 
have  produced  one  thousand  millions  of  dollars  in  gold  in  twenty 
years.  Sixty-one  million  dollars  was  the  largest  annual  gold  yield 
ever  made  in  Australia.  California  has  several  times  produced 
ninety  millions  of  gold  in  a  year." —  Townsend,  p.  384. 

"The  area  of  workable  coal-beds  in  all  the  world  outside  the 
United  States  is  estimated  at  26,000  square  miles.  That  of  the 
United  States,  not  including  Alaska,  is  estimated  at  over  200,000 
square  miles,  or  eight  times  as  large  as  the  available  coal  area  of  all 
the  rest  of  the  globe!" — American  Year  Book  for  I860,  p.  655. 

"The  iron  product  and  manufacture  of  the  United  States  has 
increased  enormously  within  the  last  few  years,  and  the  vast  beds 
of  iron  convenient  to  coal  in  various  parts  of  the  Union  are  des 
tined  to  make  America  the  chief  source  of  supply  for  the  world/' 
"Three  mountains  of  solid  iron  [in  Missouri],  known  as  Iron 
Mountain,  Pilot  Knob,  and  Shepherd's  Mountain,  are  among  the 
most  remarkable  natural  curiosities  on  our  continent." — Id.,  p.  654. 

And  the  people  have  taken  hold  to  lay  out  their 
work  on  the  grand  scale  that  nature  has  indicated. 
Excepting  only  the  Houses  of  Parliament  in  London, 
our  national  Capitol  at  Washington  is  the  most  spa 
cious  and  imposing  national  edifice  in  the  world.  By 
the  unparalleled  feat  of  a  subterranean  tunnel  two 
miles  out  under  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  Chicago  ob 
tains  her  water.  Chicago  is  the  most  extensive 
grain  and  lumber  market  in  the  world  ;  and  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York  contain  the  largest  and  best- 
furnished  printing  establishments  now  in  existence. 
The  submarine  cable,  running  like  a  thread  of  light 
through  the  depths  of  the  broad  Atlantic  from  the 
United  States  to  England,  a  conception  of  American 
genius,  is  the  greatest  achievement  in  the  telegraphic 
line.  The  Pacific  Railroad,  that  iron  highway  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  stands  at  the  head  of  all 
monuments  of  engineering  skill  in  modern  times. 


Capitol    Building    at  "Washington,    J>.    C. 

The  entire  length  of  the  Capitol  is  751^  feet  and  its  greatest  depth,  in 
cluding  porticoes  and  steps,  is  348  feet.  The  ground  covered  by  the 
entire  building  is  a  little  over  3)^  acres.  The  walls  of  the  Central 
Building  are  of  sandstone,  painted  white.  The  Extensions  are  of 
white  marble,  slightly  variegated  with  blue.  The  Dome  is  of  cast- 
iron.  135X  feet  in  diameter,  and  rises  to  a  hight  of  287%  feet  above 
the  basement  floor.  On  the  top  of  the  Dome  is  a  bronze  statue  of 
LIBERTY,  19%  feet  high.  [59] 


The   Washington   Monument. 

This  is  the  tallest  structure  yet  erected  by  the  hand  of  man.  It  was 
commenced  in  1848,  completed  in  1884,  and  dedicated  on  Washington's 
birthday,  Feb.  22,  1885.  The  shaft  rises  to  a  night  of  500  feet  5# 
inches.  This  is  surmounted  by  an  apex  of  7-inch  marble  slabs  55  feet 
high,  making  the  total  hight  555  feet  5%  inches,  which  is  597  feet  3 
inches  above  low-water  level  in  the  Potomac.  Cost  $  1,187,710.31. 
60 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS.  61 

Following  the  first  Atlantic  cable,  soon  came  a  sec 
ond  almost  as  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  following  the 
Central  Pacific  Railroad,  a  southern  line  has  been 
opened,  and  a  northern  line  has  more  recently  been 
completed.  And  what  results  are  expected  to  flow 
from  these  mighty  enterprises  ?  The  Scientific  Amer 
ican  of  Oct.  6,  1866,  says  :— 

"  To  exaggerate  the  importance  of  this  transcontinental  high 
way  is  almost  impossible.  To  a  certain  extent  it  will  change  the 
relative  positions  of  this  country,  Europe,  and  Asia.  .  .  .  With 
the  completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  instead  of  receiving  our 
goods  from  India,  China,  and  Japan,  and  the  'isles  of  the  sea,'  by 
way  of  London  and  Liverpool,  we  shall  bring  them  direct  by  way 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the  railroad,  and  become  the  carriers, 
to  a  great  extent,  for  Europe.  But  this  is  but  a  portion  of  the 
advantage  of  this  work.  Our  Western  mountains  are  almost 
literally  mountains  of  gold  and  silver.  In  them  the  Arabian  fable 
of  Aladdin  is  realized.  .  .  .  Let  the  road  be  completed,  and 
the  comforts  as  well  as  the  necessaries  furnished  by  Asia,  the 
manufactures  of  Europe,  and  the  productions  of  the  States,  can 
be  brought  by  the  iron  horse  almost  to  the  miner's  door ;  and  in  the 
production  and  possession  of  the  precious  metals,  the  blood  of 
commerce,  we  shall  be  the  richest  nation  on  the  globe.  But  the 
substantial  wealth  created  by  the  improvement  of  the  soil  and  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  the  country,  is  a  still  more  im 
portant  element  in  the  result  of  this  vast  work." 

Thus,  writh  the  idea  of  becoming  the  carriers  of 
the  world,  the  highway  of  the  nations,  and  the  rich 
est  power  on  the  globe,  the  American  heart  swells 
with  pride,  and  mounts  up  with  aspirations  to  which 
there  is  no  limit. 

And  the  extent  to  which  we  have  come  up  is  fur 
ther  shown  by  the  influence  which  we  are  exerting 
on  other  nations.  Speaking  of  America,  Mr.  Town- 
send,  in  the  work  above  cited,  p.  462,  says  : — 

"  Out  of  her  discovery  grew  the  European  reformation  in  re- 


BartTioldi's  Statue  of  Uberty  Enlightening  the  World. 

Erected  on  Bedloe  Island  in  New  York  harbor.  This  monument  is  over  300 
feet  high.  The  statue  alone,  from  the  heel  to  the  top  of  the  head,  measures  111 
feet.  The  torch  is  to  be  lighted  with  an  electric  light.  This  tower  Is  50  feet 
higher  than  the  celebrated  Colossus  of  Rhodes,  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of 
the  ancient  world.  It  is  the  largest  statue  erer  erected. 


A    CENTURY'S   PROGRESS. 


63 


Bridge. 


The  total  length  of  this  imequaled  structure  is  5,989  feet;  width,  85 
feet;  length  of  river  span,  1,595  feet;  the  hight  in  the  center,  above 
high  water  mark,  is  135  feet;  the  four  large  cables  are  each  com 
posed  of  6.300  parallel  wires,  and  are  15)^  inches  hi  diameter;  the  tow 
ers  are  277  feef  in  hight;  and  the  cost  of  the  whole  structure  was 
thirteen  millions  of  dollars. 


64  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

ligion;  out  of  our  Revolutionary  war  grew  the  revolutionary 
period  of  Europe.  And  out  of  our  rapid  development  among 
great  States  and  happy  peoples,  has  come  an  immigration  more 
wonderful  than  that  which  invaded  Europe  from  Asia  in  the  lat 
ter  centuries  of  the  Roman  empire.  When  we  raised  our  flag  on 
the  Atlantic,  Europe  sent  her  contributions ;  it  appeared  on  the 
Pacific,  and  all  Orientalism  felt  the  signal.  They  are  coming  in 
two  endless  fleets,  eastward  and  westward,  and  the  highway  is 
swung  between  the  oceans  for  them  to  tread  upon.  We  have 
lightened  Ireland  of  half  of  her  weight,  and  Germany  is  coming 
by  the  village-load  every  day.  England  herself  is  sending  the 
best  of  her  workingmen  now  (1869),  and  in  such  numbers  as  to 
dismay  her  Jack  Bunsbys.  What  is  to  be  the  limit  of  this  mighty 
immigration?  " 

J.  P.  Thompson  (  United  States  as  a  Nation,  p. 
180)  says:— 

"History  gives  examples  of  the  migration  of  tribes  and  peoples 
for  the  occupation  of  new  territories  by  settlement  or  conquest ; 
but  there  is  no  precedent  for  a  nation  receiving  into  its  bosom 
millions  of  foreigners  as  equal  sharers  in  its  political  rights  and 
powers.  With  a  magnanimity  almost  reckless,  the  United  States 
has  done  this  and  has  survived.  Immigration  first  assumed  pro 
portions  worthy  of  note  in  the  decade  from  1830  to  1840,  when 
it  reached  the  figure  of  599,000.  In  the  decade  from  1840  to  1850, 
it  increased  to  1,713,000;  and  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statis 
tics  for  1874,  gives  for  the  ten  calendar  years  from  Jan.  1,  1864, 
to  Dec.  31,  1873,  inclusive,  a  net  immigration  of  3,287,  994.  Com 
pare  these  figures  with  the  fact  that  the  purchase  of  Louisiana, 
over  a  million  square  miles,  brought  with  it  scarcely  twenty 
thousand  white  inhabitants,  and  the  nearly  a  million  square  miles 
acquired  through  Texas  and  the  Mexican  cessions,  brought  only 
some  fifty  thousand,  and  it  will  be  seen  how  much  more  formid 
able  has  been  the  problem  of  immigration  than  that  of  ter 
ritory." 

The  American  Traveler,  published  in  Boston,  Mass., 
in  its  issue  of  Feb.  24,  1883,  says  :— 

"  The  growth  of  immigration  is  one  of  the  most  striking  facts 
of  the  period.  In  1881  the  total  arrivals  were  720,000,  and  in 


Fulton's  First  Steamboat,  1807. 


The   "Sound"  Steamer  "Pilgrim,"   1885. 

Said  to  be  the  most  elegantly  furnished  steamer  in  the  world. 

5 


66  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

1882  they  rose  to  735,000.  These  figures  are  impressive.  They 
foreshadow  an  addition  to  our  population,  by  immigration  alone, 
if  this  rate  is  maintained,  of  seven  million  persons  in  the  next 
ten  years," 

This  would  be  more  than  twice  the  entire  popula 
tion  of  the  country  at  the  beginning  of  our  independ 
ence.  It  is  estimated  that  last  year's  immigrants 
brought  with  them  a  cash  capital  of  $62,470,000  ;  and 
if  each  one  is  worth,  as  a  producing  machine,  as  is 
claimed  from  careful  estimates,  $1,000,  Europe  has 
added  to  our  capital  stock,  the  past  two  years,  the 
handsome  sum  of  $1,455,000,000. 

Speaking  of  our  influence  and  standing  in  the 
Pacific,  Mr.  Townsend,  p.  608,  says  :— 

"In  the  Pacific  ocean,  these  four  powers  [England,  France, 
Holland,  and  Russia]  are  squarely  met  by  the  United  States, 
which,  without  possessions  or  the  wish  for  them,  has  paramount 
influence  in  Japan,  the  favor  of  China,  the  friendly  countenance 
of  Russia,  and  good  feeling  with  all  the  great  English  colonies 
planted  there.  The  United  States  is  the  only  power  on  the  Pa 
cific  which  has  not  been  guilty  of  intrigue,  of  double-dealing,  of 
envy,  and  of  bitterness,  and  it  has  taken  the  front  rank  in  influ 
ence  without  awakening  the  dislike  of  any  of  its  competitors, 
possibly  excepting  those  English  who  are  never  magnanimous." 

And  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Seward,  on  his  return  from  his 
celebrated  trip  around  the  world,  said,  "  Americans 
are  now  the  fashion  all  over  the  world." 

With  one  more  extract  we  close  the  testimony  on 
this  point.  •.  In  the  New  York  Independent  of  July  7, 
1870,  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax,  then  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States,  glancing  briefly  at  the  past  his 
tory  of  this  country,  said  :— 

"Wonderful,  indeed,  has  been  that  history.  Springing  into 
life  from  under  the  heel  of  tyranny,  its  progress  has  been  onward, 
with  the  firm  step  of  a  conqueror.  From  the  rugged  clime  of 


68  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

New  England,  from  the  banks  of  the  Chesapeake,  from  the  Sa 
vannahs  of  Carolina  and  Georgia,  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans, 
the  Cavalier,  and  the  Huguenot,  swept  over  the  towering  Al- 
leghanies,  but  a  century  ago  the  barrier  between  civilization  on 
the  one  side  and  almost  unbroken  barbarism  on  the  other ;  and 
the  banners  of  the  Republic  waved  from  flag-staff  and  highland, 
through  the  broad  valleys  of  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Missouri.  Nor  stopped  its  progress  there.  Thence  onward 
poured  the  tide  of  American  civilization  and  progress,  over  the 
vast  regions  of  the  Western  plains ;  and  from  the  snowy  crests  of 
the  Sierras  you  look  down  on  American  States  fronting  the  calm 
Pacific,  an  empire  of  themselves  in  resources  and  wealth,  but 
loyal  in  our  darkest  hours  to  the  nation  whose  authority  they  ac 
knowledge,  and  in  whose  glory  they  proudly  share. 

"From  a  territorial  area  of  less  than  nine  hundred  thousand 
square  miles,  it  has  expanded  into  over  three  millions  and  a  half, 
— fifteen  times  larger  than  that  of  Great  Britain  and  France  com 
bined, — with  a  shore-line,  including  Alaska,  equal  to  the  entire 
circumference  of  the  earth,  and  with  a  domain  within  these  lines, 
far  wider  than  that  of  the  Romans  in  their  proudest  days  of  con 
quest  and  renown.  With  a  river,  lake,  and  coastwise  commerce 
estimated  at  over  two  thousand  millions  of  dollars  per  year ;  with 
railway  traffic  of  from  four  to  six  thousand  millions  per  year, 
and  the  annual  domestic  exchanges  of  the  country  running  up  to 
nearly  ten  thousand  millions  per  year  ;  with  over  two  thousand 
millions  of  dollars  invested  in  manufacturing,  mechanical,  and 
mining  industry  ;  with  over  five  hundred  millions  of  acres  of  land 
in  actual  occupancy,  valued,  with  their  appurtenances,  at  over 
seven  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  and  producing  annually  crops 
valued  at  over  three  thousand  millions  of  dollars ;  with  a  realm 
which,  if  the  density  of  Belgium's  population  were  possible, 
would  be  vast  enough  to  include  all  the  present  inhabitants  of  the 
world  ;  and  with  equal  rights  guaranteed  to  even  the  poorest  and 
humblest  of  over  forty  millions  of  people,  we  can,  with  a  manly 
pride  akin  to  that  which  distinguished  the  palmiest  days  of  Rome, 
claim,  as  the  noblest  title  of  the  world,  'I  am  an  American 
citizen.' " 

And  how  long  a  time  has  it  taken  for  this  won 
derful  transformation  ?  In  the  language  of  Edward 


A    CENTURY'S    PROGRESS. 


69 


Everett,  "  They  are  but  lately  dead  who  saw  the 
first-born  of  the  Pilgrims  ;  "  and  Mr.  Townsend  (p. 
21)  says,  "  The  memory  of  one  man  can  swing  from 
that  time  of  primitive  government  to  this — when 
thirty-eight  millions  of  people  [he  could  now  say 
fifty-five  millions]  living  on  two  oceans  and  in  two 
zones,  are  represented  in  Washington,  and  their  con 
suls  and  ambassadors  are  in  every  port  and  metrop 
olis  of  the  globe." 


The   Mayflower, 

From  a  model  in  Pilgrim  Hall,  at  Plymouth,  Mass. 


\GRESS. 


--=*> 

=?>. 


CHAPTER    III. 


POLITICAL   AND  RELIGIOUS  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NATION. 


reat  instrument  which  our  forefathers  set 
forth  as  their  bill  of  rights  —  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  —  contains  these  words  :  — 

"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal  ;  that  they  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights  ;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  hap 
piness."  And  in  Art.  IV.,  Sec.  4,  of  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States,  we  find  these  words  : 
"  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State 
in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government."  A 
republican  form  of  government  is  one  in  which  the 
power  rests  with  the  people,  and  the  whole  machin 
ery  of  government  is  worked  by  representatives 
elected  by  them. 

This  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  civil  liberty.  What 
is  said  respecting  religious  freedom  ?  In  Art.  VI.  of 
the  Constitution,  we  read  :  u  No  religious  test  shall 
ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  of 
public  trust  under  the  United  States."  In  Art.  I.  of 
Amendments  of  the  Constitution,  we  read  :  "  Con 
gress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment 
of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 

In  reply  to  questions  as  to  the  design  of  the  Con 
stitution,  from  a  committee  of  a  Baptist  society  in 
Virginia,  George  Washington  wrote,  Aug.  4,  1789, 
as  follows  :— 

[71J 


Y2  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

u  If  I  had  the  least  idea  of  any  difficulty  resulting  from  the  Con 
stitution  adopted  by  the  Convention  of  which  I  had  the  honor  to 
be  the  President  when  it  was  formed,  so  as  to  endanger  the  rights 
of  any  religious  denomination,  then  I  never  should  have  attached 
my  name  to  that  instrument.  If  I  had  any  idea  that  the  general 
government  was  so  administered  that  the  liberty  of  conscience 
was  endangered,  I  pray  you  be  assured  that  no  man  would  be 
more  willing  than  myself  to  revise  and  alter  that  part  of  it,  so  as 
to  avoid  all  religious  persecutions.  You  can,  without  doubt,  re 
member  that  I  have  often  expressed  my  opinion,  that  every  man 
who  conducts  himself  as  a  good  citizen  is  accountable  to  God 
alone  for  his  religious  faith,  and  should  be  protected  in  worshiping 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience." 

In  1830,  certain  memorials  for  prohibiting  the  trans 
portation  of  the  mails  and  the  opening  of  post- 
offices  on  Sunday  were  referred  to  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  Post-offices  and  Post-roads.  The 
committee  reported  unfavorably  to  the  prayer  of  the 
memorialists.  Their  report  was  adopted,  and  printed 
by  order  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  committee  discharged  from  the  further  consider 
ation  of  the  subject.  Of  the  Constitution  they 
say  : — 

"We  look  in  vain  to  that  instrument  for  authority  to  say 
whether  the  first  day,  or  seventh  day,  or  whether  any  day,  has 
been  made  holy  by  the  Almighty. 

"The  Constitution  regards  the  conscience  of  the  Jew  as  sacred 
as  that  of  the  Christian,  and  gives  no  more  authority  to  adopt  a 
measure  affecting  the  conscience  of  a  solitary  individual  than  of  a 
whole  community.  That  representative  who  would  violate  this 
principle  would  lose  his  delegated  character,  and  forfeit  the  con 
fidence  of  his  constituents.  If  Congress  should  declare  the  first 
day  of  the  week  holy,  it  would  not  convince  the  Jew  nor  the  Sab 
batarian.  It  would  dissatisfy  both,  and  consequently  convert 
neither.  ...  If  a  solemn  act  of  legislation  shall  in  one  point 
define  the  law  of  God,  or  point  out  to  the  citizen  one  religious 
duty,  it  may  with  equal  propriety  define  every  part  of  revelation, 
and  enforce  every  religious  obligation,  even  to  the  forms  and 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       ^3 

ceremonies  of  worship,  the  endowments  of  the  church,  and  the 
support  of  the  clergy. 

"The  framers  of  the  Constitution  recognized  the  eternal  prin 
ciple  that  man's  relation  to  his  God  is  above  human  legislation, 
and  his  right  of  conscience  inalienable.  Reasoning  was  not  nec 
essary  to  establish  this  truth  ;  we  are  conscious  of  it  in  our  own 
bosoms.  It  is  this  consciousness,  which,  in  defiance  of  human 
laws,  has  sustained  so  many  martyrs  in  tortures  and  flames.  They 
felt  that  their  duty  to  God  was  superior  to  human  enactments, 
and  that  man  could  exercise  no  authority  over  their  consciences. 
It  is  an  inborn  principle  which  nothing  can  eradicate. 

"  It  is  also  a  fact  that  counter  memorials,  equally  respectable, 
oppose  the  interference  of  Congress,  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
be  legislating  upon  a  religious  subject,  and  therefore  unconstitu 
tional." 

Hon.  A.  H.  Cragin,  of  New  Hampshire,  in  a  speech 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  said  : — 

"When  our  forefathers  reared  the  magnificent  structure  of  a 
free  republic  in  this  Western  land,  they  laid  its  foundations  broad 
and  deep  in  the  eternal  principles  of  right.  Its  materials  were  all 
quarried  from  the  mountain  of  truth ;  and  as  it  rose  majestically 
before  an  astonished  world,  it  rejoiced  the  hearts  and  hopes  of 
mankind.  Tyrants  only  cursed  the  workmen  and  their  work 
manship.  Its  architecture  was  new.  It  had  no  model  in  Grecian 
or  Roman  history.  It  seemed  a  paragon  let  down  from  Heaven 
to  inspire  the  hopes  of  men,  and  to  demonstrate  God's  favor  to 
the  people  of  the  New  World.  The  builders  recognized  the  rights 
of  human  nature  as  universal.  Liberty,  the  great  first  right  of 
man,  they  claimed  for  'all  men/  and  claimed  it  from  '  God  him 
self/  Upon  this  foundation  they  erected  the  temple,  and  ded 
icated  it  to  Liberty,  Humanity,  Justice,  and  Equality.  Washing 
ton  was  crowned  its  patron  saint.  Liberty  was  then  the  national 
goddess,  worshiped  by  all  the  people.  They  sang  of  liberty,  they 
harangued  for  liberty,  they  prayed  for  liberty.  Slavery  was  then 
hateful.  It  was  denounced  by  all.  The  British  king  was  con 
demned  for  foisting  it  upon  the  colonies.  Southern  men  were 
foremost  in  entering  their  protest  against  it.  It  was  then  every 
where  regarded  as  an  evil,  and  a  crime  against  humanity." 


74:  THE    MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

Again,  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  Prot 
estant  rule  of  faith  ;  and  liberty  to  worship  God  ac 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  one's  own  conscience  is  the 
standard  of  religious  freedom  in  this  land  ;  and  from 
the  quotations  herewith  presented,  it  is  evident  that 
while  the  government  pledges  to  all  its  citizens  the 
largest  amount  of  civil  freedom,  outside  of  license,  it 
has  determined  to  lay  upon  the  people  no  religious 
restrictions,  but  to  guarantee  to  all  liberty  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  Protestant  principle. 

It  is  these  heaven-born  principles, — civil  and  relig 
ious  liberty, — so  clearly  recognized,  so  openly  ac 
knowledged,  and  so  amply  guaranteed,  that  have 
made  this  nation  the  attraction  it  has  been  to  the 
people  of  other  lands,  and  which  have  drawn  them  in 
such  multitude  to  our  shores. 

Townsend  ("Old  World  and  New,"  p.  341)  says:— 

"And  what  attached  these  people  to  us?  In  part,  undoubt 
edly,  our  zone,  and  the  natural  endowments  of  this  portion  of  the 
globe.  In  part,  and  of  late  years,  our  vindicated  national  char 
acter,  and  the  safety  of  our  institutions.  But  the  magnet  in  Amer 
ica  is  that  we  are  a  republic — a  republican  people  !  Cursed  with  ar 
tificial  government,  however  glittering,  the  people  of  Europe, 
like  the  sick,  pine  for  nature  with  protection,  for  open  vistas  and 
blue  sky,  for  independence  without  ceremony,  for  adventure  in 
their  own  interest ;  and  here  they  find  it  !  " 

Thompson  ("  United  States  as  a  Nation,"  p.  29)  gives 
this  view  of  the  religious  element  that  entered  into 
this  organization  : — 

"  In  the  movements  in  the  colonies  that  prepared  the  way  for 
the  Revolution,  the  religious  spirit  was  a  vital  and  earnest  ele 
ment.  Some  of  the  colonies  were  the  direct  offspring  of  religious 
persecution  in  the  old  country,  or  of  the  desire  for  a  larger  free 
dom  of  faith  and  worship  ;  and  so  jealous  were  they  of  any  in 
terference  with  the  rights  of  conscience,  that  their  religion  was 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       ?5 

fitly  described  [by  Burke  in  his  Speech  of  Conciliation]  as  'a  refine 
ment  on  the  principle  of  resistance,  the  dissidence  of  dissent,  and 
the  Protestantism  of  the  Protestant  religion.'  And  the  colonies 
that  were  founded  in  that  spirit  of  commercial  adventure,  or  for 
extending  the  realm  of  Great  Britain,  became  also  an  asylum  for 
religious  refugees  from  all  nations,  and  by  the  prospect  of  a  larger 
and  freer  religious  life,  attracted  to  themselves  the  men  of  dif 
ferent  races  and  beliefs  who  had  learned  to  do  and  to  suffer  for 
their  faith." 

On  page  31,  he  further  says  : — 

"Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  religious  wars  and  persecutions 
of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  were  a  train 
ing  school  for  the  political  independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Diverse  and  seemingly  incon 
gruous  as  were  the  nationalities  represented  in  the  colonies, — 
Dutch,  French,  German,  Swedish,  Scotch,  Irish,  English, — they 
had  all  imbibed,  either  by  experience  or  by  inheritance,  some 
thing  of  the  spirit  of  personal  independence,  and  especially  of  re 
ligious  liberty.  Gustavus  Adolphus  designed  his  colony  of 
Swedes  for  the  benefit  of  '  all  oppressed  Christendom/  Penn,  the 
Quaker,  established  Pennsylvania  as  '  a  free  colony  for  all  man 
kind,'  where  the  settlers  '  should  be  governed  by  laws  of  their 
own  making.'  The  first  charter  of  the  Jerseys — which  were  largely 
peopled  by  Quakers  and  Scotch  and  Irish  Presbyterians — declared 
that  '  No  person  shall  at  any  time,  in  any  way,  or  on  any  pretense, 
be  called  in  question,  or  in  the  least  punished  or  hurt,  for  opinion 
in  religion.'  And  Oglethorpe's  Colony  of  Georgia  was  founded  to 
be  a  refuge  for  '  the  distressed  people  of  Britain,  and  the  perse 
cuted  Protestants  of  Europe;'  then  the  German  Moravian  settled 
side  by  side  with  the  French  Huguenot  and  the  Scotch  Presbyte 
rian  under  the  motto,  'We  toil  not  for  ourselves,  but  for  others.' 

"Pere  Hyacinthe,  after  a  tour  in  New  England,  said  he  had  re 
marked  in  every  town  three  institutions  that  epitomized  Amer 
ican  society, — the  bank,  the  school,  and  the  church.  A  true  pict 
ure.  And  you  see  the  intellectual  and  the  spiritual  are  two  to 
one  against  the  material, — the  bank,  the  store-house  of  gains  and 
savings,  the  school  and  the  church,  the  distributing  reservoirs  of 
what  is  freely  taken  from  the  bank  and  given  to  those  educating 
and  spiritualizing  forces  of  society. 


76  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"  'The  Americans/  says  De  Tocqueville,  '  show  by  their  practice 
that  they  feel  the  high  necessity  of  imparting  morality  to  demo 
cratic  communities  by  means  of  religion.  ...  In  the  United 
States,  on  the  first  day  of  every  week,  the  trading  and  working 
life  of  the  nation  seems  suspended ;  all  noises  cease  ;  a  deep  tran 
quillity,  say  rather  the  solemn  calm  of  meditation,  succeeds  the 
turmoil  of  the  week,  and  the  soul  resumes  possession  and  con 
templation  of  itself.  Upon  this  day  the  marts  of  traffic  are  de 
serted  ;  every  member  of  the  community,  accompanied  by  his 
children,  goes  to  church,  where  he  listens  to  strange  language, 
which  would  seem  unsuited  to  his  ear.'  This  last  expression 
shows  that  even  the  philosophical  acumen  of  De  Tocqueville  had 
failed  to  penetrate  to  the  secret  of  religious  life  in  America. 
That  is  no  'strange  language'  to  which  the  American  banker, 
merchant,  farmer,  mechanic,  listens  when  he  goes  to  church  on 
Sunday;  it  is  the  language  he  was  accustomed  in  childhood  to 
hear  from  his  parents  ;  the  language  that  perhaps  he  himself  has 
used  in  his  own  family  every  day  of  the  week  at  morning  prayer ; 
the  lessons  that  he  inculcates  to  his  children, — '  of  the  finer 
pleasures  which  belong  to  virtue  alone,  and  of  the  true  happiness 
which  attends  it.'  It  is  not  on  Sunday  alone,  as  De  Tocqueville 
imagined,  'that  the  American  steals  an  hour  from  himself,  and 
laying  aside  for  a  while  the  petty  passions  which  agitate  his  life 
and  the  ephemeral  interests  which  engross  it,  strays  at  once  into 
an  ideal  world,  where  all  is  great,  eternal,  and  pure.'  Thousands 
upon  thousands  of  the  busiest  men  in  America  do  this  every  day 
with  undeviating  regularity.  This  is  their  life, — in  that  ideal 
world  ;  and  they  bring  from  this  springs  and  motives  to  action  in 
the  world  of  affairs." — Id.,  pp.  219,  220. 

The  success  of  the  United  States  in  erecting  at 
once  a  permanent  and  stable  form  of  government 
has  been  an  astonishment  to  other  nations.  Edouard 
Laboulaye,  one  of  the  foremost  patriots  and  publicists 
of  France,  just  after  the  revolution  of  1848  said  :— 

"  In  the  last  sixty  years  we  have  changed  eight  or  ten  times 
our  government  and  our  constitution  ;  have  passed  from  anarchy 
to  despotism ;  tried  two  or  three  forms  of  the  republic  and  of 
monarchy ;  exhausted  proscription,  the  scaffold,  civil  and  foreign 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       ^ 

war  ;  and  after  so  many  attempts,  and  attempts  paid  with  the 
fortune  and  the  blood  of  France,  we  are  hardly  more  advanced 
than  at  the  outset;  The  constitution  of  1848  took  for  its  model 
the  constitution  of  1791,  which  had  no  life  ;  and  to-day  we  are 
agitating  the  same  questions  that  in  1789  we  nattered  ourselves 
we  had  resolved.  How  is  it  that  the  Americans  have  organized 
liberty  upon  a  durable  basis,  while  we,  who  surely  are  not  inferior 
to  them  in  civilization — we  who  have  their  example  before  our 
eyes — have  always  miscarried  ? " 

Thompson  (''United  States  as  Nation, "p.  107)  quotes 
the  foregoing  from  "  Etudes  Morales  et  Politiques," 
p.  285,  and  spends  a  few  moments  considering  a 
proper  answer  to  this  question  which  the  Frenchman 
in  so  much  astonishment  asks.  He  makes  the  an 
swer  to  consist  principally  in  the  fact  that  the  Amer 
icans  conceived  and  adopted  a  superior  constitution 
—a  constitution  which  has  sprung  from  the  noble 
principles  which  have  given  this  nation  its  political 
and  religious  influence,  as  noticed  in  this  chapter. 
He  says  :— 

"But  in  this  point  of  constitution-making,  it  will  also  be  seen 
that  the  Americans,  with  a  rare  felicity,  succeeded  in  incorporat 
ing  the  constitution  of  the  nation,  which  is  its  life  principle,  with 
the  national  constitution,  which  gives  to  the  national  life  its  defin 
itive  form  and  expression.  They  not  only  achieved  independence, 
but,  in  the  happy  phrase  of  the  French  critic,  they  'organized 
liberty.'  This  success  was  due  to  training,  to  methods,  and  to 
men,  or  rather  to  that  mysterious  conjunction  of  men  and  events 
that  make  the  genius  of  an  epoch  akin  to  inspiration. " 

The  value  and  influence  of  this  constitution  is 
shown  in  the  fact  that  "  to-day  a  leading  organ  of 
opinion  in  England  pronounces  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  'the  most  sacred  political  docu 
ment  in  the  world.'  "—Id.  p.  160. 

The  growing  influence  of  American  opinions  and 


Y8  THE    MARVEL    OF    NATIONS. 

ideas  is  still  further  shown  in  the  recognition  of 
American  literature  abroad.  Says  Thompson  (p. 
231),  "  Many  of  us  can  remember  the  sneer  of  the 
Edinburgh  Review,  'Who  reads  an  American  book?' 
The  laugh  is  turned,  now  that  everywhere  in  England 
one  sees  the  railway  book-stalls,  and  the  shelves  of 
circulating  libraries,  crowded  with  American  books 
in  ready  demand  ;  that  one  can  count  up  scores  of 
American  authors  reprinted  in  England  (in  the  cat 
alogue  of  a  single  London  publisher,  I  lately  saw 
twelve  American  names)  ;  that  in  '  The  International 
Scientific  Series,'  published  at  London  and  Leipzig, 
the  names  of  Cooke,  Dana,  Draper,  Flint,  Whitney, 
appear  side  by  side  with  Bain,  Carpenter,  Huxley, 
Lubbock,  Spencer,  Tyndall,  Bernstein,  Lisbreich, 
Lenckart,  Steinthal,  Virchow  ;  that  every  leading 
English  review  now  has  its  department  of  American 
literature.  The  AtJienczum  finds  much  to  praise, 
and  even  the  hypercritical  Saturday  Review,  now 
and  then  throws  us  such  tidbits  as  these  :  *  Haw 
thorne  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  of  novelists. 
Whittier's  "  Mabel  Martin  "  is  enough  to  make  the 
reputation  of  any  poet.'  True  we  have  given  birth 
to  no  Shakspeare  nor  Byron  ;  but  with  the  list  of 
contemporary  English  poets,  from  Tennyson  down 
to  Swinburne,  we  need  not  hesitate  to  compare  our 
list  from  Bryant  down  to  Whitman,  each  after  his 
kind." 

The  stability  of  our  government  through  the 
changes  and  vicissitudes  which  have  revolutionized 
if  not  overthrown  other  governments,  is  a  further 
evidence  of  the  solid  political  and  religious  basis  on 
which  its  foundations  are  laid.  On  this  point  we 


POLITICAL    AND   RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       79 

quote  again  from  the  same  volume  from  which  the 
last  few  extracts  are  given,  p.  148  : — 

"Frederic  the  Great  died  ;  and,  twenty  years  after,  the  Prussia 
that  he  had  created  lay  dismantled,  dismembered,  disgraced,  at 
the  dictation  of  K^poleon.  Kapoleon  abdicated  ;  and  France  has 
wandered  through  all  forms  of  government,  seeking  rest  and  find 
ing  none.  Washington  twice  voluntarily  retired  from  the  highest 
posts  of  influence  and  power, — the  head  of  the  army,  the  head  of 
the  State  ;  but  the  freedom  he  had  won  by  the  sword,  the  institu 
tions  he  had  organized  as  president  of  the  Federal  Convention, 
the  government  he  had  administered  as  President  of  the  Union, 
remained  unchanged  and  have  grown  in  strength  and  majesty 
through  all  the  growing  years." 

American  missionaries  have  gone  to  all  the  world, 
and  in  numbers  and  activity  hold  an  equal  place  with 
those  of  any  other  nation  ;  while  the  American  Bi 
ble  Society,  in  the  extent  of  its  operations,  sending 
out  millions  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  all  the 
leading  languages  of  the  world,  stands  next  to  the 
original  society  of  the  mother  country. 

This  country  has  now  come  to  be  looked  upon  as 
the  model,  after  which  other  governments  may  prof 
itably  pattern.  Under  the  title  of  "  The  Model 
Republic,"  Cyrus  D.  Foss,  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Meth 
odist  Episcopal  Church,  New  York,  preached  a  ser 
mon,  which  appeared  in  the  Methodist,  in  December 
1867,  from  which  the  reader  will  be  pleased  to  read 
the  following  extracts,  which  may  fitly  close  the  pres 
ent  chapter  : — • 

"Let  every  thoughtful  American  bless  God  that- he  lives  in  this 
age  of  the  world,  and  in  this  country  on  the  globe ;  not  in  the 
dark  past,  where  greatness  and  even  goodness  could  accomplish 
so  little  ;  not  in  the  oriental  world,  where  everything  is  stiffened 
and  is  hard  as  cast-iron  ;  but  now  where  such  mighty  forces  are  at 
work  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity,  and  just  here  at  this  focal 
point  of  power. 


80  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"  In  no  vainglorious  spirit,  but  with  a  sincere  desire  to  awaken 
your  -gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  his  astonishing  mercies  to  us 
as  a  people,  I  propose  this  inquiry  :  What  is  the  place  of  America 
in  history  ?  God  gives  each  nation  a  work  to  do.  For  that  work 
he  bestows  adequate  and  appropriate  endowments,  and  to  it  he 
summons  the  nation  by  a  thousand  trumpet  calls  of  providence. 
If  those  calls  are  unheeded,  if  the  nation  is  hopelessly  recreant,  he 
dashes  it  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.  Witness  Assyria  ;  wit 
ness  the  Jewish  people  ;  nation  after  nation — a  long  procession — 
has  faded  away  at  the  blast  of  the  breath  cf  his  nostrils. 

"I  maintain  to-day  that  God  has  signalized  this  great  American 
nation,  this  democratic  republican  nation,  this  Protestant  Chris 
tian  nation,  above  all  the  nations  that  are  or  ever  have  been  upon 
the  face  of  the  globe,  by  the  place  and  the  work  he  has  assigned  it. 
Look  at  its  place  on  the  globe,  and  its  place  among  the  centuries. 
What  a  magnificent  arena  for  a  young  nation  to  step  forth  upon 
and  begin  its  march  to  a  destiny  inconceivably  glorious  :  Suppose 
an  angel  flying  over  all  the  earth  two  hundred  years  ago,  looking 
down  upon  the  crowded  populations  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  the 
weak  and  wretched  tribes  of  Africa,  perceiving  that  humanity 
never  rises  to  its  noblest  development,  save  in  the  north  temper 
ate  zone — turning  his  flight  westward  across  the  Atlantic,  there 
dawns  upon  him  the  vision  of  a  new  world — a  world  unpopulated 
save  by  a  few  scattered  and  wandering  tribes  of  aboriginal  sav 
ages,  and  by  thirteen  sparse  colonies  of  the  hardiest  and  best  of 
immigrants  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  He  beholds  a  continent 
marvelously  beautiful  with  unlimited  resources  to  be  developed ; 
its  rivers  open  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  bring  all  into  com 
munication  with  two  great  oceans  and  with  the  tropic  gulf.  He 
sees  a  soil  inexhaustibly  fertile  ;  he  sees  the  mountains  (for  an  an 
gel's  eye  can  search  their  treasures)  full  of  gold,  silver,  copper, 
iron,  and  coal.  He  sees  a  country  insulated  by  three  thousand 
miles  of  ocean  from  all  the  nations,  needing  contiguity  with  none 
—a  Cosmos  in  itself.  Would  not  this  angel-gazer  say,  '  My  God 
has  assuredly  made  and  endowed  this  peerless  continent  for  some 
glorious  end,  The  rest  of  the  wrorld  is  occupied,  and  the  most  of 
it  cursed  by  occupation.  Here  is  virgin  soil ;  here  is  an  arena  for 
a  new  nation,  which,  perchance,  profiting  by  the  mistakes  of  the 
long,  dark  past,  may,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  work  out  for  itself 
and  for  humanity  a  better  destiny'  ? 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       Si 

"  Note  again  the  place  of  America  in  the  scale  of  the  centuries. 
"Why  was  this  continent  hid  from  the  eye  of  Europe  so  long  ? 
And  why,  after  its  discovery,  was  it  kept  unsettled  for  a  century 
and  a  quarter  longer,  the  thought  of  it  all  that  time  being  only  a 
disturbing  leaven  in  the  mind  of  Europe  ?  Ah  !  God  would  not 
suffer  it  that  tyrannical  ideas  of  government  or  religion  should 
take  root  here.  He  veiled  the  New  World  from  the  vision  of  the 
Old,  until  the  Old  h.Jd  cultivated  a  seed  worthy  to  plant  the  New. 
Xo  crowned  despots,  no  hooded  monks,  were  to  nourish  here.  No 
hoary  superstitions,  no  ancient  usurpations,  were  to  take  root  here. 
Why  was  the  era  of  this  nation's  birth  coeval  with  that  of  the 
development  of  inventive  genius  ?  Why  was  it  that  this  land  was 
comparatively  unsettled  until  the  iron  horse  was  ready  to  career 
across  its  plains,  leap  its  rivers,  dive  through  its  mountains,  and 
bring  its  most  distant  cities  into  vicinage? — until  Leviathan  stood 
waiting  to  plough  the  ocean,  and  bring  the  nations  into  brother 
hood  ? — until  the  fiery  steeds  of  heaven  were  being  harnessed  to 
fly  with  tidings  in  a  single  instant  across  the  continent  or  under 
the  ocean?  Why  was  the  beginning  of  our  national  history  de 
layed  until  the  doctrines  of  civil  and  religious  liberty — a  thousand 
times  strenuously  asserted  and  bravely  defended — had  emerged 
into  prominence  and  power,  so  that  the  American  freeman  of  to 
day  stands  upon  the  shoulders  of  thirty  generations  of  heroic  bat 
tles  for  the  right?  Why — most  remarkable  coincidence  of  all — 
why  does  it  occur  that  just  at  the  time  of  the  vigorous  infancy  of 
this  favored  nation,  the  church  of  God  should  awake  from  the 
slumber  of  ages,  acknowledge  the  universal  bond  of  brotherhood, 
and  begin  in  this  age,  within  the  lifetime  of  men  here  present, 
those  sublime  evangelizing  agencies  which  are  the  chief  glory  of 
the  century,  and  which  are  to  bring  this  world  to  the  feet  of  Je 
sus?*  No  candid  man  can  ponder  these  thoughts  without  won 
dering  what  God  designs  for  this  young  giant  which  he  has  so 
located  on  the  surface  of  this  globe,  and  on  the  scale  of  the  cent 
uries. 

"The  thesis  I  shall  defend  is  this:  God  designated  the  United/ 


•#  We  should  be  glad  if  we  could  sympathize  with  the  speaker  in  this 
view.  But  we  are  not  able  to  find  iu  the  Scriptures  any  evidence  that  the 
world  is  all  to  be  brought  into  obedience  to  Christianity  before  the  sec 
ond  coming  of  Christ. 

6 


82  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

States  of  America  as  the  Model  Republic  and  the  great  evangelizer  of 
the  world.  The  questions  I  have  just  propounded  suggest  a  line 
of  argument  which  will  prove  this  proposition,  and  by  proving  it, 
devolve  upon  us  here  in  this  country  a  responsibility,  the  like  of 
which  has  never  been  laid  upon  any  nation.  Let  me  premise 
two  things  essential  to  the  argument.  America  is  certainly  the 
observed  of  all  observers.  The  eyes  of  all  nations  are  upon  her. 
This  free  government,  this  'experiment  a'*  free  government,'  as 
European  absolutists  have  sneeringly  termed  it,  fixes  the  gaze  of 
the  whole  world.  There  is  no  nation,  no  tribe,  civilized  or  semi- 
civilized,  on  the  whole  earth,  that  does  not  look  this  way,  and  feel 
that  humanity  has  a  stake  in  this  land.  This  Hercules,  who, 
when  in  his  cradle,  bearded  and  defeated  the  British  Lion  ;  who, 
in  his  callow  youth,  repeated  that  feat  on  those  watery  plains, 
where,  till  then,  the  foe  had  ranged  acknowledged  lord,  and  who 
has  just  now,  in  his  vigorous  manhood,  throttled  and  slain  the 
many-headed  hydra  of  rebellion — secession,  treason,  and  slavery — 
this  Hercules,  somehow,  has  come  to  be  gazed  upon  by  all  lands, 
and,  somehow,  the  oppressed  of  every  nation  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  have  reached  the  conviction  that  he  is  their  champion. 

"The  other  preliminary  thought  is  this  :  In  stating  the  mission 
of  America,  I  have  mentioned  two  things — that  God  meant  it  to 
be  a  model  Republic,  and  the  great  evangelizer,  and  these  two  are 
one.  We  cannot  consider  them  separately,  and  draw  out  entirely 
distinct  lines  of  proof.  It  is  idle  for  any  nation  at  this  age  to 
expect  greatness  without  acknowledging  God,  and  falling  into  the 
ranks  as  an  obedient  subject  of  his  kingdom.  In  ancient  times, 
the  case  was  different ;  but  now  Christian  nations  control  the 
world,  and  depend  upon  it,  brethren,  the  hands  will  never  go 
backward  on  the  dial.  France  tried  to  get  on  without  a  God  in 
the  time  of  her  first  revolution,  but  Napoleon,  for  reasons  of  State, 
restored  the  Catholic  religion.  His  most  appreciative  historian, 
M.  Thiers,  gives  us  a  deeply  interesting  account  of  this  singular 
passage  in  his  history.  Napoleon  said:  "For  my  part,  I  never 
hear  the  sound  of  the  church  bell  in  the  neighboring  village  with 
out  emotion."  He  knew  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  stirred 
by  the  same  deep  yearnings  after  God  which  filled  his  own,  and  so 
he  proposed  to  restore  the  worship  of  God  to  infidel  France. 
The  savans  of  Paris  ridiculed  the  proposal,  laughed  it  to  scorn, 
declared  it  was  weakness  in  him  to  yield  to  a  superstition  that  had 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS   INFLUENCE.       83 

forever  passed,  and  that  he  needed  no  such  aid  to  government, 
and  that  he  could  do  what  he  pleased.  'Yes/  said  he,  'but  I  act 
only  with  regard  to  the  real  and  sensibly-felt  wants  of  France.' 
Negotiations  were  opened  with  the  Pope,  and  the  Romish  worship 
was  set  up,  amid  the  enthusiasm  of  the  nation.  The  historian 
utters  this  reflection  :  '  Whether  true  or  false,  sublime  or  ridiculous, 
men  must  have  a  religion.'  Later,  and  with  deeper  meaning, 
Perrier,  successor  to  Lafayette  as  prime  minister  to  Louis  Philippe, 
said,  on  his  death-bed  :  '  France  must  have  religion.'  So  I  say  to 
day  concerning  that  better  faith,  which  overthrows  what  Roman 
ism  sets  up  ;  which  breaks  the  shackles  Romanism  binds  on ; 
which  is  the  only  security  of  national  permanence — America  must 
have  religion.  In  order  to  be  the  model  Republic,  she  must  be 
the  great  evangelizer. 

"The  two  evangels  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  are  ours. 
There  are  two  great  methods  by  which  God  indicates  his  will  con 
cerning  a  nation — by  the  providential  training  he  bestows  upon  it, 
and  by  the  resources  he  puts  within  its  reach.  Now,  in  the  light 
of  these  two  criteria,  let  us  look  at  this  country  and  see  if  God 
does  not  proclaim  his  will  as  plainly  as  though  he  had  written  it 
in  letters  of  fire  on  the  sky  over  every  American  sunset,  or  deeply 
graven  it  in  rocky  characters  on  the  crest  of  every  American 
mountain.  'My  will  is,  that  on  this  new  continent,  the  nation  I 
plant  here  shall  be  the  model  Republic  and  the  great  evangelizer 
of  the  world.'  I  have  already  indicated  in  general  outline  this 
train  of  argument ;  but  let  us  now  look  first  behind  us  at  our  his 
tory,  and  then  around  us  at  our  resources,  and  see  what  are  their 
teachings.  While  we  do  not  believe  in  'manifest  destiny/  in  the 
sense  of  blind  fate,  or  of  results  absolutely  certain  without  regard 
to  national  character  and  endeavor,  we  do  believe  that  the  breath 
of  God  has  inspired  the  heart  of  America  with  a  sublime  idea,  and 
that  the  hand  of  God  has  marvelously  led  her  along  toward  its 
realization,  and  has  gifted  her  with  munifi  ent  resources  for  the 
completion  of  this  great  work. 

"  Glance  backward  at  our  history,  and  keep  in  mind  the  ques 
tion  what  it  all  meant.  This  country  was  discovered  by  a  religious 
navigator,  sent  out  by  a  religious  queen,  and  the  ruling  motive  in 
the  minds  of  both  of  them  was  a  religious  one.  Isabella  and 
Columbus  both  intended  to  give  the  gospel  to  the  natives  of  any 
lands  that  might  be  discovered.  America  was  discovered  just 


$4:  THE  MAUVE L    OF  NATIONS. 

after  the  art  of  printing  had  begun  its  marvelous  quickening  of  the 
human  mind.  Now  who  shall  settle  it  ?  Papists  ?  They  found 
it.  Spaniards  ?  Frenchmen  ?  Both  wanted  it.  No  ;  God's  plan 
will  be  imperiled  unless  colonists  of  a  certain  language,  and  of  a 
certain  religious  faith,  shall  be  the  first  settlers  of  the  land.  The 
settlers  must  have  the  truest  religious  faith  there  is  on  the  earth, 
and  must  speak  only  that  language  which,  more  than  any  other 
language,  is  full  of  the  inspirations  of  liberty.  They  come — and 
for  what  ?  With  the  noblest  motives  that  ever  inspired  the 
bosom  of  an  emigrant,  see  them  land  from  the  Mayflower  upon 
the  frozen  beach,  amid  the  storms  of  winter,  dropping  tears 
which  freeze  as  they  fall  and  yet  tears  of  gratitude. 
"  <  What  sought  they  thus  afar? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine? 
The  wealth  of  seas?  the  spoils  of  war  ? 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine. 
Aye,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  spot  where  first  they  trod ; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found — 

Freedom  to  worship  God.' 

"  They  had  trouble  enough  from  the  aborigines  to  drive  them 
together,  and  to  drive  them  to  God.  They  had  the  utmost  sim 
plicity  of  manners,  the  utmost  reverence  for  the  Bible,  and  the 
utmost  detestation  of  tyranny,  whether  in  the  Church  or  State. 
They  had  not  for  the  love  of  freedom  left  their  homes  in  the  Old 
World  to  become  slaves  in  the  New.  The  God  who  instituted  the 
colonies  moulded  their  history.  He  kept  them  connected  with  the 
mother  country  until  they  were  strong  enough  to  stand  alone 
among  the  nations,  and  then  he  overruled  the  manner  of  their 
breaking  away  so  as  to  inspire  them  with  a  perpetual  hatred  of  all 
oppression.  Why  the  British  Parliament  should  have  passed  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  why,  in  repealing  it,  it  should  have  re-asserted  the 
false  principles  underlying  it ;  why  it  should  have  so  long  persisted 
in  treating  Englishmen  here  as  Englishmen  there  would  never 
have  submitted  to  be  treated  at  all,  no  man  can  explain  on  any 
other  hypothesis  than  this :  that  England  was  judicially  blinded, 
in  order  that  America  might  be  free. 

"  And  this  is  not  merely  the  opinion  of  Americans  spoken  a 
century  after.  It  was  the  opinion  of  British  statesmen  at  the 
time.  The  halls  of  Parliament,  the  whole  realm,  rang  with  notes 


POLITIC/ AL    AND   RELIGIOUS   INFLUENCE.       85 

of  warning  at  that  hour.  Lord  Chatham  said  :  '  The  gentleman 
tells  us  that  America  is  obstinate,  America  is  almost  in  open  re 
bellion.  I  rejoice  that  America  has  resisted.  Three  millions  of 
people  so  dead  to  all  the  feelings  of  liberty  as  voluntarily  to  sub 
mit  to  be  slaves  would  have  been  fit  instruments  to  make  slaves 
of  the  rest.'  This  was  said  in  Parliament  ten  years  before  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Wesley,  who  is  usually  represented 
as  having  been  the  foe  of  our  independence,  and  to  whom  his 
tory  has  at  length  done  tardy  justice,  on  the  very  first  day  after 
the  reception  of  the  news  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  sat  down 
and  wrote  to  Lord  North  and  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  each  an 
emphatic  letter :  '  I  am  a  High-churchman,  the  son  of  a  High- 
churchman,  brought  up  from  my  childhood  in  the  highest  notions 
of  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all 
my  long-rooted  prejudices,  I  cannot  avoid  thinking  these,  an  op 
pressed  people,  asked  for  nothing  more  than  their  legal  rights, 
and  that  in  the  most  modest  and  inoffensive  manner  that  the  nat 
ure  of  the  thing  would  allow.'  '  And  if  arms  were  to  be  resorted 
to,  how  could  it  happen  that  Great  Britain  should  fail  in  the  con 
test  ?  How  could  it  be  that  she  should  not  be  able,  after  over 
powering  the  fleets  and  armies  of  the  first  nations  of  Europe  [and 
this  is  an  Englishman's  question],  immediately  to  discomfit  the 
farmers  and  merchants  of  America  ?  '  There  is  but  one  explana 
tion  :  '  We  got  not  the  land  in  possession  by  our  own  sword, 
neither  did  our  own  arms  save  us  ;  but  thy  right  hand  and  thine 
arm,  and  the  light  of  thy  countenance,  because  thou  hadst  a  favor 
unto  us.'  God  released  the  young  giant  from  the  swaddling- 
bands  of  colonial  dependence.  And  why  should  it  not  be  so  ? 
Why  should  a  country  like  this,  the  most  magnificent  of  any 
country  on  the  earth,  a  country  in  -whose  hikes  England  might 
have  been  thrown  and  buried,  whoso  descending  seas  make  her 
greatest  rivers  appear,  in  comparison,  liko  brooks  and  rivulets, 
whose  cataracts  might  have  drowned  out  her  cities — why  should 
this  magnificent  country  be  shackled  by  the  chains  put  on  it  by 
the  selfishness  of  its  parent  ?  It  was  not  according  to  the  will  of 
God.  He  chose  that  here,  in  an  independent  career  of  unparal 
leled  freedom  to  man,  this  country  should  go  forth  on  its  path  of 
progress,  and  hold  its  place  among  the  nations  unsurpassed  by 
any  until  human  happiness  and  grandeur  this  side  the  grave 
should  be  no  more. 


86  THE   MARVEL    OP  NATIONS. 

"  The  ideal  of  government  is  popular  government.  The  divine 
right  of  kings  is  an  exploded  fancy.  The  best  ends  of  govern 
ment  can  never  be  realized  by  the  rule  of  one  or  of  a  few.  God 
gave  to  Israel  a  king  in  his  wrath.  The  rights  of  man,  the  dignity 
of  man,  the  direct  relation  and  responsibility  of  man  to  God— 
these  ideas  stand  forth  most  clearly  where  there  is  no  king,  no 
noble  nor  ignoble  pedigree,  no  bar  between  the  poorest  boy  in  the 
land  and  the  highest  post  of  honor.  Many  an  experiment  of  re 
publican  government  had  failed  for  the  lack  of  general  intelligence 
and  of  a  pure  religion. 

"Absolutists  pointed  to  Rome,  to  Sparta,  to  France,  and 
sneered  at  the  democratic  idea.  For  the  grandest  and  final  ex 
periment  of  self-government,  God  reserved  this  peerless  continent. 
Such  a  new  work,  politically,  can  be  best  accomplished  on  virgin 
soil,  where  no  old  castles,  no  effete  conservatism  should  bind 
men  subserviently  to  a  blundering  past — where  all  things  summon 
them  to  hold  communion,  not  with  dead  men's  bones,  but  with 
nature,  with  freedom,  and  with  God. 

"A  rapid  glance  at  the  resources  of  this  country  will  deepen 
our  conviction  of  the  grandeur  of  its  mission.  We  shall  see  that 
it  has  ample  resources,  material  and  moral,  for  the  great  work  to 
which  it  is  summoned.  We  have  the  heart  of  the  continent,  the 
north  temperate  zone.  If  you  will  study  history,  you  will  find 
that  no  great  nation  has  ever  existed  on  the  earth  except  in  that 
zone.  There  must  be  the  hardening  of  the  muscles  and  the  fiber, 
and  the  quickening  of  the  mind,  which  can  be  only  where  sum 
mer's  heat  gives  place  to  winter's  frost. 

"We  have  also  a  coast-line  greater  than  that  of  any  other  na 
tion.  The  relation  of  this  fact  to  the  theme  will  quickly  appear. 
Arnot  counsels  fearful  Englishmen  to  turn  for  comfort  from  the 
newspaper  to  the  map.  He  bids  them  notice  that  the  coast-line 
of  Great  Britain  is  three  times  greater  than  that  of  France,  and 
thence  argues  that  the  commercial  and  naval  supremacy  of  Great 
Britain  is  forever  assured.  The  argument  is  sound.  Now,  our 
coast-line  is  several  times  greater  than  that  of  any  other  nation. 
We  have  two  oceans,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  great  lakes ; 
and  rivers  piercing  the  land  bring  all  the  country  right  down  to 
the  sea.  The  commercial  and  the  naval  greatness  of  America  can 
easily  be  all  that  they  need  it  to  be  for  the  accomplishment  of 
those  things  which  we  believe  God  has  assigned  for  this  nation  to 


POLITICAL    AND    RELIGIOUS    INFLUENCE.       87 

accomplish  in  the  world.  Our  agricultural  and  mineral  resources, 
and  the  rapidly  increasing  population  which  is  developing  them, 
must  have  a  few  words. 

"  Sir  Morton  Peto,  the  great  railroad  manager,  whose  travels  in 
our  own  country  excited  so  much  attention  in  financial  circles, 
went  back  to  his  own  country  amazed  at  our  resources,  and  wrote 
a  book  which  you  ought  to  read.  It  would  astound  you  by  its 
revelations  of  the  greatness  of  our  country,  which  we  ourselves 
do  not  begin  to  understand.  Let  me  give  you  two  or  three  facts 
concerning  our  resources.  In  1850  the  ten  Western  States 
produced  46,000,000,  bushels  of  wheat;  in  1860,  102,000,000. 
The  mines  of  gold  and  silver  are  nearly  all  on  public  lands,  and 


Oil   Wells    and   Plant   of  Pumps    and    Tanks. 

Governor  Walker  says :  '  They  are  the  property  of  the  Federal 
Government,  and  their  intrinsic  value  exceeds  our  public  debt.' 
It  wants  only  the  Pacific  railroad  to  make  them  yield  $150,000,- 
000  annually.  In  Missouri  there  is  an  iron  mountain  228  feet 
high,  covering  an  area  of  500  acres,  and  containing  230,000,000 
tons  of  pure  ore,  and  every  foot  of  descent  below  the  surface  will 
give  3,000,000  tons.  The  upper  s.eam  of  the  coal-field  about 
Pittsburg  contains  over  53£  thousand  millions  tons  of  coal — that 
is  2,000  tons  for  every  dollar  of  our  national  debt ;  and  the  Key 
stone  State,  which  in  other  ways  contributed  so  nobly  to  the  na 
tional  cause,  came  forward  in  the  hour  of  our  sorest  need,  and 
poured  into  our  finances  an  element  of  marvelous  quickening  and 


88  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

strength — oil,  which  lubricated  the  machinery  of  the  government, 
and  helped  to  illuminate  the  night  of  our  trial.  In  1862,  42,000,- 
000  gallons  of  petroleum  were  exported,  and  its  benefits  extended 
far  beyond  its  cash  value.  It  employed  labor  and  rewarded 
capital ;  it  stimulated  internal  industry  and  external  commerce. 
But  all  our  people  are  employed ;  how,  then,  can  these  immense 
resources  ever  be  developed? — By  the  rapidly  multiplying  millions. 
In  1800,  there  were  in  Indiana  4,875  inhabitants  ;  in  1860,  1,350,- 
428.  In  1849,  in  Minnesota,  4,000  inhabitants;  in  1864,  350,000. 
In  1850,  there  were  1,900  acres  of  land  ploughed  in  Minnesota; 
in  1860,  433,276  acres. 

"Now,  what  is  the  bearing  of  these  startling  facts  upon  our 
argument  ?  A  great  nation  must  be  materially  great.  It  must 
have  room  to  stand  on,  and  a  field  to  work  in,  for  only  work  can 
make  a  man  or  nation  great.  These  amazing  resources  are  to 
furnish  us  the  machinery  for  a  splendid  career  of  civil,  moral,  and 
religious  progress." 


CHAPTER    IV. 


IMPORTANT   PROBABILITIES    CONSIDERED. 

j||jl|UR  country's  progress,  even  under  so  brief  a 
't|MI  survey  as  that  contained  in  the  preceding  chap- 
•wy*  ters,  must  strike  every  one  as  a  marvel  of  na 
tional  growth.  And  when  we  take  into  considera 
tion  the  convictions  expressed  by  some  of^the  em 
inent  authors  from  whom  we  have  quoted,  that  the 
hand  of  Providence  has  been  more  conspicuous  in 
the  development  of  this  nation  than  in  that  of  any 
other,  it  is  calculated  to  intensify  greatly  our  interest 
in  the  subject,  and  hasten  us  on  to  an  investigation 
of  the  query  whether  this  nation  is  not,  as  other  na 
tions  have  been,  mentio'ned  in  that  prophetic  word 
which  has  outlined  the  great  epochs  of  human  his 
tory,  pointed  out  the  nations,  and  in  some  instances 
the  individuals,  which  were  to  act  a  part  therein,  and 
described  the  movements  they  would  make.  Cer 
tainly  if  the  hand  of  Providence  has  been  so  con 
spicuously  present  in  our'  history,  as  some  of  the 
writers  already  referred  to  affirm,  we  could  hardly  do 
less  than  look  for  some  mention  of  this  government 
in  that  Book  which  makes  it  a  special  purpose  to 
record  the  workings  of  that  Providence  among  man 
kind.  What,  then,  are  the  probabilities  in  the  mat 
ter  ?  On  what  conditions  might  we  expect  to  find 
mention  of  it  ?  If  the  same  conditions  exist  here,  as 
those  upon  which  other  nations  have  been  made  sub 
jects  of  prophecy,  we  should  expect  to  find  mention 
of  this  also.  On  what  conditions,  then,  have  other 

[89] 


90  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

nations  found  a  place  on  the  prophetic  record  ? — On 
these  conditions  :  first,  if  they  have  acted  any  pro 
minent  part  in  the  world's  history  ;  and  secondly, 
and  above  all,  if  they  have  had  jurisdiction  over  the 
people  of  God,  or  have  maintained  such  relations 
with  them  that  the  history  of  the  latter  could  not  be 
written  without  mention  of  the  former.  In  the 
prophecies  and  records  of  the  Bible  compared  with 
the  records  of  secular  history,  we  find  data  from  which 
to  deduce  the  rule  here  given  respecting  the  pro 
phetic  mention  of  earthly  governments  ;  and  as  it  is 
a  very  important  one,  the  reader  will  permit  us  to 
state  it  again  :  Whenever  the  relation  of  God's  peo 
ple  to  any  nation  are  such  that  a  true  history  of  the 
former,  which  is  the  object  of  all  revelation,  could 
not  be  given  without  a  notice  of  the  latter,  such  na 
tion  is  mentioned  in  prophecy. 

And  all  these  conditions  are  certainly  fulfilled  in 
our  government.  As  regards  the  first,  no  nation  has 
ever  attracted  more  attention,  excited  more  profound 
wonder,  or  given  promise  of  greater  eminence  or  in 
fluence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  and  as 
touching  the  second,  certainly  here,  if  anywhere  on 
the  globe,  are  to  be  found  a  strong  array  of  Chris 
tians,  such  as  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light 
of  the  world,  whose  history  could  not  be  written 
without  mention  of  that  government  under  which 
they  live  and  enjoy  their  liberty. 

With  these  probabilities  in  favor  of  the  proposi 
tion  that  this  government  should  be  a  subject  of 
prophecy,  let  us  now  take  a  brief  survey  of  those 
symbols  found  in  the  word  of  God  which  represent 
earthly  governments.  These  are  found  chiefly,  if  not 
entirely,  in  the  books  of  Daniel  and  the  Revelation. 


IMP  GET  ANT   PROBABILITIES    CONSIDERED.       91 

In  Daniel  2,  a  symbol  is  introduced  in  the  form  of  a 
great  image,  consisting  of  four  parts, — gold,  silver, 
brass,  and  iron, — which  is  finally  dashed  to  atoms, 
and  a  great  mountain,  taking  its  place,  fills  the  whole 
earth,  and  remains  forever.  In  Daniel  7,  the  prophet 
records  a  vision  in  which  he  was  shown  a  lion,  a 
bear,  a  leopard,  and  a  great  and  terrible  nondescript 
beast,  which  after  passing  through  a  new  and  re 
markable  phase,  is  cast  into  a  lake  of  fire,  and  utterly 
perishes.  In  Daniel  8,  mention  is  made  of  a  ram,  a 
he-goat,  and  a  horn  little  at  first,  but  waxing  ex 
ceeding  great,  which  is  finally  broken  without  hand. 
Verse  25.  In  Revelation  9,  we  have  a  description  of 
locusts  like  unto  horses.  In  Revelation  12,  we  have 
a  great  red  dragon.  In  Revelation  13,  a  blasphe 
mous  leopard  beast  is  brought  to  view,  and  a  beast 
with  two  horns  like  a  lamb.  In  Revelation  17,  John 
gives  us  a  graphic  pen-picture  of  a  scarlet-colored 
beast,  upon  which  a  woman  sits  holding  in  her  hand 
a  golden  cup,  full  of  filthiness  and  abomination. 

What  governments  and  what  powers  are  repre 
sented  by  all  these  ?  Do  any  of  them  symbolize  our 
own  ?  Some  of  them  certainly  represent  earthly 
kingdoms,  for  so  the  prophecies  themselves  expressly 
inform  us  ;  and  in  the  application  of  nearly  all  of 
them  there  is  quite  a  uniform  agreement  among  ex 
positors.  The  four  parts  of  the  great  image  of  Dan 
iel  2  represent  four  kingdoms.  They  symbolize  re 
spectively,  Babylon,  or  Chaldea,  Medo-Persia,  Grecia, 
and  Rome.  The  lion  of  the  seventh  chapter  also  re 
presents  Babylon  ;  the  bear,  Medo-Persia  ;  the  leop 
ard,  Grecia  ;  and  the  great  and  terrible  beast,  Rome. 
The  horn  with  human  eyes  and  mouth,  which  appears 
in  the  second  phase  of  this  beast,  represents  the  pa- 


09  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

pacy,  and  covers  its  history  down  to  the  time  when 
it  was  temporarily  overthrown  by  the  French  in  1798. 
In  Daniel  8,  likewise,  the  ram  represents  Medo-Per- 
sia  ;  the  he-goat,  Grecia  ;  and  the  little  horn,  Rome. 
All  these  have  a  very  clear  and  definite  application 
to  the  governments  named.  None  of  them  thus  far 
can  have  any  reference  to  the  United  States. 

The  symbols  brought  to  view  in  Revelation  9,  all 
commentators  concur  in  applying  to  the  Saracens 
and  Turks.  The  dragon  of  Revelation  12  is  the  ac 
knowledged  symbol  of  Pagan  Rome.  The  leopard 
beast  of  the  Revelation  13  can  be  shown  to  be 
identical  with  the  eleventh  horn  of  the  fourth  beast  of 
Daniel  7,  and  hence  to  symbolize  the  papacy.  The 
scarlet  beast  and  woman  of  Revelation  17  as  evi 
dently  apply  also  to  Rome  under  papal  rule,  the 
symbols  having  especial  reference  to  the  distinction 
between  the  civil  power  and  the  ecclesiastical,  the 
one  being  represented  by  the  beast,  the  other  by  the 
woman  seated  thereon. 

There  is  one  symbol  left,  last  but  not  least,  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  that  vigorous  and  sprightly 
fellow  with  two  horns  like  a  lamb,  brought  to  view  in 
Revelation  13  :  11-17 — what  nation  does  that  sym 
bolize  ?  On  this  there  is  more  difference  of  opinion. 
Let  us,  therefore,  before  seeking  for  an  application, 
look  at  the  time  and  territory  covered  by  those  al 
ready  examined.  Babylon  and  Medo-Persia  covered 
all  the  civilized  portion  of  Asia,  in  ancient  times. 
Greece  covered  Eastern  Europe,  including  Russia. 
Rome,  with  the  ten  kingdoms  into  which  it  was  di 
vided  before  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  A.  D.,  as  rep 
resented  by  the  ten  toes  of  the  image,  the  ten  horns 
of  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  7,  the  ten  horns  of  the 


IMPORTANT   PROBABILITIES    CONSIDERED.       93 

dragon  of  Revelation  12,  and  the  ten  horns  of  the 
leopard  beast  of  Revelation  13,  covered  all  Western 
Europe.  In  other  words,  all  the  civilized  portions  of 
the  eastern  hemisphere  from  the  earliest  times  to  the 
present  are  absorbed  by  the  symbols  already  ex 
amined,  respecting  the  application  of  which  there  is 
scarcely  any  room  for  doubt. 

But  there  is  a  mighty  nation  in  this  western  hem 
isphere,  worthy,  as  we  have  seen,  of  being  mentioned 
in  prophecy,  which  is  not  yet  brought  in  ;  and  there 
is  one  symbol  remaining,  the  application  of  which  has 
not  yet  been  made.  All  the  symbols  but  one  are  ap 
plied,  and  all  the  available  portions  of  the  earth,  with 
the  exception  of  our  own  government,  are  covered 
by  the  nations  which  these  symbols  represent.  Of 
all  the  symbols  mentioned,  one  alone — the  two- 
horned  beast  of  Revelation  13 — is  left  ;  and  of  all  the 
countries  of  the  earth  respecting  which  any  reason 
exists  why  they  should  be  mentioned  in  the  proph 
ecy,  one  alone — our  own  government — remains.  Do 
the  two-horned  beast  and  the  United  States  belong 
together?  If  they  do,  then  all  the  symbols  find  an 
application,  and  all  the  ground  is  covered.  If  they 
do  not,  it  follows,  first,  that  the  United  States  is  not 
represented  in  prophecy  by  any  of  the  national  sym 
bols,  as,  for  the  reasons  already  stated,  we  should 
expect  it  would  be  ;  and  secondly,  that  the  symbol 
of  the  two-horned  beast  of  Revelation  13  : 11-17  finds 
no  government  to  which  it  can  apply.  But  the  first 
of  these  suppositions  is  not  probable  ;  and  the  second 
is  not  possible. 


CHAPTER  V. 


A    CHAIN    OF   PROPHECY. 

4ET  us  now  enter  upon  a  more  particular  exami 
nation  of  the  second  symbol  of  Revelation  13, 
with  a  view  to  determining  its  application  with 
greater  certainty.  What  is  said  respecting  this  sym 
bol — the  beast  with  two  horns  like  a  lamb — is  not  an 
isolated  and  independent  prophecy,  but  is  connected 
with  what-  precedes  ;  and  the  symbol  itself  is  but  one 
of  a  series.  It  is  proper,  therefore,  to  examine  briefly 
the  preceding  symbols,  since  if  we  are  able  to  make 
a  satisfactory  application  of  them,  it  will  guide  us  in 
the  interpretation  of  this. 

The  line  of  prophecy  of  which  this  forms  a  part 
commences  with  Revelation  12.  The  book  of  the 
Revelation  is  evidently  not  merely  one  consecutive 
prophecy  of  events  to  transpire  from  the  beginning 
to  the  close  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  but  is  com 
posed  of  a  series  of  such  consecutive  prophecies, 
each  line  taking  up  its  own  class  of  events,  and  trac 
ing  them  through  from  the  days  of  the  prophet  to  the 
end  of  time  ;  and  when  one  line  of  prophecy  is  com 
pleted,  another  is  introduced  into  the  narrative,  which 
in  order  of  time  goes  back  into  the  past,  perhaps  to 
the  beginning,  and  follows  its  own  series  of  events 
down  to  the  end.  That  such  a  new  series  of  prophetic 
events  is  introduced  in  Revelation  12,  is  evident  ; 
since  in  the  preceding  chapter  a  line  of  prophecy 
comes  to  its  completion  in  the  great  day  of  God's 
wrath,  the  judgment  of  the  dead,  and  the  eternal 
[94] 


A    CHAIN    OF  PROPHECY.  95 

reward  of  those  that  fear  God  and  revere  his  name. 
No  line  of  prophecy  can  go  further  ;  and  any  events 
to  transpire  in  probation,  subsequently  mentioned, 
must  of  course  belong  to  a  new  series. 

Commencing,  then,  with  chapter  12,  how  far  does 
this  line  of  prophecy  extend  ?  The  first  symbol  in 
troduced  which  can  be  applied  to  an  earthly  govern 
ment,  is  the  great  red  dragon.  The  second  is  the 
beast  of  Revelation  13,  which,  having  the  body  of  a 
leopard,  may  for  brevity's  sake,  be  called  the  leopard 
beast.  To  this  beast  the  dragon  gives  his  seat, 
power,  and  great  authority.  This  beast,  then,  is  con 
nected  with  the  dragon,  and  belongs  to  this  line  of 
prophecy.  The  third  symbol  is  the  two-horned  beast 
of  Revelation  13.  This  beast  exercises  certain  power 
in  the  presence  of  the  leopard  beast,  and  causes  the 
earth  and  them  that  dwell  therein  to  worship  him. 
This  beast,  therefore,  is  connected  with  the  leopard 
beast,  and  hence  belongs  to  the  same  line  of  proph 
ecy.  The  conclusion  of  the  prophecy  is  not  reached 
in  chapter  13,  and  hence  this  line  of  events  does  not 
end  with  that  chapter,  but  must  be  looked  for  farther 
on  in  the  record.  Going  forward  into  chapter  14,  we 
find  a  company  brought  to  view  who  are  redeemed 
from  among  men  (which  expression  can  mean  noth 
ing  else  than  translation  from  among  the  living  at 
the  second  coming  of  Christ)  ;  and  they  sing  a  song 
before  the  throne  which  none  but  themselves  can 
learn.  In  chapter  15,  we  have  a  company  presented 
before  us  who  have  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast, 
his  image,  the  mark,  and  the  number  of  his  name,  the 
very  objects  brought  to  view  in  the  concluding  por 
tion  of  Revelation  13.  This  company  also  sing  a  song, 
even  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  ;  and  they 


96  THE    MARVEL    OF    NATIONS. 

sing  it  while  standing  upon  the  sea  of  glass,  as  stated 
in  verse  2.  Turning  to  chapter  4  :  6,  we  learn  that 
this  sea  of  glass  is  "before  the  throne."  The  con 
clusion,  therefore,  follows  that  those  who  sing  before 
the  throne,  in  chapter  14,  are  identical  with  those 
who  sing  on  the  sea  of  glass  (before  the  throne),  in 
chapter  15,  inasmuch  as  they  stand  in  the  same  place, 
and  the  song  they  both  sing  is  the  first  glad  song  of 
actual  redemption.  But  the  declarations  found  in 
chapter  15  show  that  the  company  introduced  in  the 
opening  of  chapter  14  have  been  in  direct  conflict 
with  the  powers  brought  to  view  in  the  closing  verses 
of  chapter  13,  and  have  gained  the  victory  over  them. 
Being  thus  connected  with  these  powers,  they  form 
a  part  of  the  same  line  of  prophecy.  But  here  this 
line  of  prophecy  must  end  ;  for  this  company  is 
spoken  of  as  redeemed,  and  no  line  of  prophecy,  as 
already  noticed,  can  go  beyond  the  eternal  state. 
The  line  of  prophecy  in  which  the  two-horned 
beast  stands,  is,  therefore,  one  which  is  very  clearly 
defined  ;  it  commences  with  chapter  12,  and  ends 
with  verse  5  of  chapter  14.  The  student  of  proph 
ecy  finds  it  one  of  vast  importance  ;  the  humble  child 
of  God,  one  of  transcendent  interest.  It  begins  with 
the  Church,  and  ends  with  the  Church, — the  Church, 
at  first  in  humility,  trial,  and  distress  ;  at  last,  in 
victory,  exaltation,  and  glory.  This  is  the  one  ob 
ject  which  ever  appears  the  same  in  all  the  scenes 
here  described,  and  whose  history  is  the  leading 
theme  of  the  prophecy,  from  first  to  last.  Tram 
pled  under  the  feet  of  the  three  colossal  persecuting 
powers  here  brought  to  view,  the  followers  of  Christ 
for  long  ages  bow  their  heads  to  the  pitiless  storm 
of  oppression  and  persecution  ;  but  the  end  repays 


A    CHAIN    OF   PROPHECY.  97 

them  all ;  for  John  beholds  them  at  last,  the  storms 
all  over,  their  conflicts  all  ended,  waving  palm- 
branches  of  victory,  and  striking  on  harps  celestial  a 
song  of  everlasting  triumph  within  the  precincts  of 
the  heavenly  land. 

Having  found  the  line  of  prophecy  of  which  the 
symbol  before  us  forms  a  part  thus  definitely  located 
and  defined,  we  now  enter  upon  its  examination. 
The  first  inquiry  is,  What  power  is  designated  by  the 
great  red  dragon  of  chapter  12  ?  The  chapter  first 
speaks  of  a  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  the  moon 
under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve 
stars.  A  woman  is  the  symbol  of  the  Church,  a 
lewd  woman  representing  a  corrupt  or  apostate 
Church,  as  in  Eze.  23  :  2-4,  etc.,  which  refers  to  the 
Jewish  Church  in  a  state  of  backsliding,  and  in  Rev. 
IT  :  3-6,  15,  18,  which  refers  to  the  apostate  Romish 
Church  ;  and  a  virtuous  woman  representing  the  true 
Church,  as  in  the  verse  under  consideration.  At 
what  period  in  her  history  could  the  Church  of  Christ 
be  properly  represented  as  here  described  ?  Ans. 
At  the  opening  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  and  at  no 
other  time  ;  for  then  the  glory  of  this  dispensation, 
like  the  light  of  the  sun,  had  just  risen  upon  her  ;  the 
former  or  Mosaic  dispensation,  which,  like  the  moon, 

hone  with  a  borrowed  light,  had  just  passed,  and  lay 
aeath  her  feet  ;  and  twelve  inspired  apostles,  like 

„  crown  of  twelve  stars,  graced  the  first  organization 
of  the  gospel  Church.  To  this  period  these  repre 
sentations  can  apply,  but  to  no  other.  The  prophet 
antedates  this  period  a  little  by  referring  to  the  time 
when  the  Church,  with  long  expectation,  was  await 
ing  the  advent  into  this  world  of  the  glorious  Re 
deemer,  and  represents  the  new  dispensation,  as  al- 

7 


98  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

ready  opened,  and  the  Christian  Church  organized, 
as  this  was  the  condition  in  which  Christ  was  to  leave 
it  at  the  conclusion  of  his  brief  earthly  ministry. 

A  man  child,  here  represented  as  the  offspring  of 
this  woman,  appears  upon  the  scene.  Verse  5.  This 
child  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and 
was  caught  up  to  God  and  his  throne.  These  decla 
rations  are  true  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  of  no 
one  else.  See  Ps.  2:7-9;  Eph.  1  :  20,  21  ;  Heb.  8:1; 
Rev.  3  :  21.  There  is  therefore  no  mistaking  the  time 
when,  nor  the  place  where,  the  opening  of  this  proph 
ecy  is  located.  We  mention  these  facts  for  the  pur 
pose  of  identifying  the  power  symbolized  by  the 
dragon,  which  is  the  point  we  are  seeking  to  ascer 
tain  ;  for  the  dragon  stood  before  the  woman  to  de 
vour  her  child  as  soon  as  it  should  be  born.  Who 
attempted  the  destruction  of  our  Lord  when  he 
appeared  as  a  babe  in  Bethlehem  ? — Herod.  And 
who  was  Herod  ? — A  Roman  governor.  Rome,  which 
then  ruled  over  all  the  earth  (Luke  2  : 1),  was  the  re 
sponsible  party  in  this  transaction.  Rome  was  the 
only  power  which  at  this  time  could  be  symbolized 
in  prophecy,  as  its  dominion  was  universal.  It  is  not 
without  good  reason,  therefore,  that  Pagan  Rome  is 
considered  among  Protestant  commentators  to  be  the 
power  indicated  by  the  great  red  dragon.  And  it 
may  be  a  fact  worth  mentioning  that  during  the  sec 
ond,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  next  to  the  eagle,  the  dragon  was  the  principal 
standard  of  the  Roman  legions  ;  and  that  dragon  was 
painted  red. 

There  is  but  one  objection  we  need  pause  to  an 
swer  before  passing  to  the  next  symbol.  Is  not  the 
dragon  plainly  called  the  Devil  and  Satan,  in  verse 


A    CHAIN    OF   PROPHECY.  99 

9  ?  How,  then,  can  the  term  "  dragon  "  be  applied 
to  Pagan  Rome  ?  That  it  is  primarily  applied  to  the 
Devil,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  ;  but  that  it  should 
be  applied  also  to  some  of  his  chief  agents,  would 
seem  to  be  appropriate  and  unobjectionable.  Now 
Rome,  being  at  this  time  pagan,  and  the  supreme 
empire  of  the  world,  was  the  great  and  sole  agent  in 
the  hands  of  the  Devil  for  carrying  out  his  purposes, 
so  far  as  they  pertained  to  national  affairs.  Hence 
the  use  of  that  symbol  to  designate,  and  the  appli 
cation  of  that  term  to  describe,  the  Roman  power. 

Having  identified  the  power  symbolized  by  the 
dragon,  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  enter  into  other 
particulars  concerning  it,  the  object  being  to  hasten 
on  to  the  second  symbol  of  chapter  13.  We  there 
fore  pass  on  to  an  examination  of  the  next  symbol, 
which  is  the  leopard  beast  of  the  first  part  of  chapter 
13.  To  this  beast  the  dragon  gives  his  seat,  his 
power,  and  great  authority.  Verse  2.  It  would  be 
sufficient  on  this  point  simply  to  show  to  what  power 
the  dragon,  Pagan  Rome,  transferred  its  seat  and 
gave  its  power.  The  seat  of  any  government  is  cer 
tainly  its  capital  city.  The  city  of  Rome  was  the 
dragon's  seat.  But  in  A.  D.  330  Constantine  transferred 
the  seat  of  empire  from  Rome  to  Constantinople  ; 
and  Rome  was  given  up — to  what  ?  to  decay,  desola 
tion,  and  ruin  ? — No  ;  but  to  a  power  which  would 
render  it  far  more  celebrated  than  it  had  ever  before 
been,  not  as  the  seat  of  pagan  emperors,  but  as  the 
city  of  St.  Peter's  pretended  successors,  the  seat  of  a 
spiritual  kingdom  which  was  not  only  to  become 
more  powerful  than  any  secular  government,  but 
which,  through  the  magic  of  its  fatal  sorcery,  was  to 
exercise  dominion  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Thus 


100  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATION'S. 

was  Rome — the  seat  of  the  dragon — given  to  the  pa 
pacy  by  the  transfer  of  the  throne  of  the  emperors  to 
Constantinople  by  Constantine  in  A.  D.  330  ;  and  the 
decree  of  Justinian,  issued  in  533,  and  carried  into 
effect  in  538,  constituting  the  pope  the  head  of  all 
the  churches  and  the  corrector  of  heretics,  was  the 
investing  of  the  papacy  with  that  power  and  author 
ity  which  the  prophet  foresaw.  See  Croly  on  the 
Apocalypse,  pp.  114,  115. 

It  is  very  evident,  therefore,  that  this  leopard 
beast  is  a  symbol  of  the  papacy.  But  there  are  other 
considerations  which  prove  this.  This  beast  has  the 
body  of  a  leopard,  the  mouth  of  a  lion,  and  the  feet 
of  a  bear.  In  Daniel's  vision  of  chapter  7,  he  was 
shown  a  lion,  bear,  and  leopard  ;  and  the  fact  that  this 
beast  has  the  features  of  each  of  these,  shows  it  to  be 
some  power  which  succeeded  the  kingdoms  symbol 
ized  by  those  three  beasts  of  Daniel's  prophecy,  and 
one  which  retained  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
them  all ;  and  that  was  Rome.  But  this  is  not  the 
first,  or  pagan  form  of  the  Roman  government ;  for  that 
is  represented  by  the  dragon  ;  and  this  is  the  form 
which  next  succeeded  that,  which  was  the  papal. 

But  what  most  clearly  shows  that  this  beast  repre 
sents  the  papacy,  is  its  identity  with  the  little  horn 
of  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  7,  which  all  Protestants 
agree  in  applying  to  the  papal  power. 

1.  Their  Chronology.  (1.)  After  the  great  and 
terrible  beast  of  Daniel  Y,  which  represents  Rome  in 
its  first,  or  pagan  form,  is  fully  developed,  even  to 
the  existence  of  the  ten  horns,  or  the  division  of  the 
Roman  empire  into  ten  parts,  the  little  horn  arises. 
Verse  24.  (2.)  This  leopard  beast  likewise  succeeds 
the  dragon,  which  also  represents  Rome  in  its  pagan 


A  CHAIN  OF  PROPHESY.^ 

form.  These  powers — the  little  horn  and  the  leop 
ard  beast — appear,  therefore,  upon  the  stage  of  action 
at  the  same  time ;  i.  e.,  next  after  the  decadal  division 
of  the  Roman  empire,  as  shown  by  the  ten  horns  of 
Daniel's  fourth  beast,  and  after  the  same  division 
into  ten  parts,  as  symbolized  by  the  ten  horns  of  the 
dragon. 

2.  Their  Location.     (1.)  The  little  horn  plucked  up 
three  horns  to  make  way  for  itself.     The  last  of  these, 
the    Gothic    horn,  was    plucked  up  when  the  Goths 
were  driven  from  Rome  in  538,  and  the  city  was  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  little  horn,  which  has  ever  since 
held  it  as  the  seat  of  its  power.      (2.)   To  the  leopard 
beast,    also,  the    dragon    gave    its    seat,  the    city    of 
Rome.     They  therefore  occupy  the  same  location. 

3.  TJieir  Character.     (1.)  The  little  horn  is  a  blas 
phemous  power  ;    for  it  speaks   great  words  against 
the  Most  High.     Dan.  7  :  25.     (2.)    The  leopard  beast 
is  also  a  blasphemous  power  ;  for  it  bears  upon  its 
head  the  name  of  blasphemy  ;  it  has  a  mouth  speak 
ing  great  things  and  blasphemies  ;  and  he  opens  his 
mouth  in  blasphemy  against  God  to  blaspheme  his 
name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and  them    that    dwell    in 
heaven.       Rev.    13  :  1,    5,  6.       Therefore,    they    both 
maintain  exactly  the  same  character. 

4.  Their  Work.     (1.)   The  little  horn,  by  a  long  and 
heartless  course  of  oppression  against  the  saints  of 
the  Most  High,  wears  them  out  ;  and  they  are  given 
into  his  hand.     Dan.  7  :  25.     He  makes  war  against 
them,    and    prevails.      Verse    21.       (2.)   The    leopard 
beast  also  makes  war  upon  the  saints,  and  overcomes 
them.      Rev.  13  :  7.     This    shows    that    they  do    the 
same  work,  and  against  the  same  class  of  people. 

5.  The  Time  of  Their  Continuance.    (1.)  Power  was 


10$.  THE;  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

given  to  the  little  horn  to  continue  a  "  time  and 
times  and  the  dividing  of  time."  Dan.  7 :  25.  A 
time  in  Scripture  phraseology  is  one  year.  Dan.  4 : 
25.  (The  "  seven  times  "  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  hu 
miliation,  Josephus  informs  us,  were  seven  years^] 
Times,  that  is  two  times,  the  least  that  can  be  ex 
pressed  by  the  plural,  would  be  two  years  more  ;  and 
the  dividing  of  time,  or  half  a  time,  half  a  year  more, 
making  in  all  three  and  a  half  years.  (2.)  To  the 
leopard  beast,  power  was  also  given  to  continue  forty- 
two  months.  There  being  twelve  months  to  the 
year,  this  period  gives  us  again  just  three  and  a  half 
years.  And  this  being  prophetic  time,  a  day  for  a 
year  (Num.  14  :  34  ;  Eze.  4  :  6),  and  there  being,  ac 
cording  to  Scripture  reckoning,  thirty  days  to  a 
month,  or  three  hundred  and  sixty  days  to  the  or 
dinary  Bible  year  (Gen.  7  :  11,  24  ;  8  :  4),  we  have  in 
each  case  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  for  the 
continuance  of  the  little  horn  and  the  leopard  beast. 
Thus  we  see  that  they  continue  the  same  length  of 
time. 

6.  Their  Overthrow.  (1.)  At  the  end  of  the  "  time, 
times,  and  a  half,"  the  dominion  of  the  little  horn  was 
to  be  taken  away.  Dan.  7  :  26.  (2.)  At  the  end  of 
the  forty-two  months,  the  same  length  of  time,  the 
leopard  beast  was  also  to  be  slain,  politically,  with 
the  sword,  and  go  into  captivity.  Rev.  13  :  3,  10. 

These  are  points  which  prove  not  merely  similar 
ity,  but  identity.  For  whenever  two  symbols,  as  in 
this  instance,  represent  powers  that, — 

1.  Come  upon    the    stage   of  action    at   the   same 
time, 

2.  Occupy  the  same  territory, 

3.  Maintain  the  same  character. 


A    CHAIN   OF    PROPHECY.  103 

4.  Do  the  same  work, 

5.  Continue  the  same  length  of  time,  and 

6.  Meet  the  same  fate — 

Those  t^vo  symbols  must  represent  one  and  the  same 
power. 

And  in  all  these  particulars  there  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  most  exact  coincidence  between  the  little 
horn  of  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  7  and  the  leopard 
beast  of  Revelation  13  ;  and  all  are  fulfilled  by  one 
power  ;  and  that  is  the  papacy.  For  1.  The  papacy 
succeeded  to  the  pagan  form  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  2. 
It  has,  ever  since  it  was  first  established,  occupied 
the  seat  of  the  dragon,  the  city  of  Rome,  building  for 
itself  such  a  sanctuary — St.  Peter's — as  the  world  no 
where  else  beholds  ;  3.  It  is  a  blasphemous  power, 
speaking  the  most  presumptuous  words  it  is  possible 
for  mortal  lips  to  utter  against  the  Most  High  ;  4.  It 
has  worn  out  the  saints,  the  "Religious  Encyclopedia" 
estimating  that  the  lives  of  fifty  millions  of  Christians 
have  been  quenched  in  blood  by  its  merciless  imple 
ments  of  torture  ;  5.  It  has  continued  a  "  time, 
times,  and  a  half,"  or  "  forty-two  months,"  or  twelve 
hundred  and  sixty  years.  Commencing  in  538,  when 
the  decree  of  Justinian  in  behalf  of  papal  supremacy 
was  first  made  effectual  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
Goths,  the  papacy  enjoyed  a  period  of  uninterrupted 
supremacy  for  just  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years, 
to  1798  ;  and  6.  Then  its  power  was  temporarily  over 
thrown,  and  its  influence  permanently  crippled,  when 
the  French,  under  Berthier,  entered  Rome  in  triumph, 
and  the  pope  was  taken  prisoner,  and  died  in  exile. 

Can  any  one  doubt  that  the  papacy  is  the  power 
in  question,  and  that  the  interpretation  of  this  sym 
bol  brings  us  down  within  eighty-seven  years  of  our 


104 


TEE  MAUVE L    OF  NATIONS. 


own  time  ?  We  regard  the  exposition  of  the  proph 
ecy  thus  far  as  clear  beyond  the  possibility  of  refuta 
tion  ;  and  if  this  is  so,  our  future  field  of  inquiry  lies 
within  a  very  narrow  compass,  as  we  shall  presently 
see. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


LOCATION  OF   THE   GOVERNMENT  REPRESENTED  BY  THE 
SECOND  SYMBOL  OF  REVELATION  13. 

1JIJOLLOWING  the  leopard,  or  papal  beast  of  Rev- 
|p|  elation  13  in  consecutive  order,  comes  another 

J  |\\v> 

*tF"  symbol  whose  appearance  the  prophet  deline 
ates,  and  whose  work  he  describes,  in  the  following 
language  :— 

VERSE  11.  And  I  beheld  another  beast  coming  up  out  of  the 
earth ;  and  lie  had  two  horns  like  a  lamb,  and  he  spake  as  a 
dragon.  12.  And  lie  exerciseth  all  the  power  of  the  first  beast 
before  him,  and  causeth  the  earth  and  them  which  dwell  therein 
to  worship  the  first  beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed.  13. 
And  he  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire  come  down 
from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the  sight  of  men,  14,  and  deceivetl: 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  the  means  of  those  miracles  which 
he  had  power  to  do  in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast 
which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  and  did  live.  15.  And  he  had 
power  to  give  life  unto  the  image  of  the  beast,  that  the  image  of 
the  beast  should  both  speak,  and  cause  that  as  many  as  would  not 
worship  the  image  of  the  beast  should  be  killed.  16.  And  he 
causeth  all,  both  small  and  great,  rich  and  poor,  free  and  bond,  to 
receive  a  mark  in  their  right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads  ;  17  :  and 
that  no  man  might  buy  or  sell,  save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the 
name  of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of  his  name. 

These  few  verses,  with  an  allusion  to  the  same 
power  under  the  name  of  "  the  false  prophet "  in 
Rev.  16  :  13  and  19  :  20,  furnish  all  the  testimony  we 
have  respecting  the  two-horned  beast  ;  but  brief  as 
it  is,  it  gives  sufficient  data  for  a  very  certain  appli- 

[105] 


106  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

cation  of  the  symbol  in  question.  As  an  example  of 
the  world  of  meaning-  which  prophecy  can  condense 
into  a  few  words,  a  portion  of  the  first  verse  of  the 
foregoing  quotation  may  be  instanced.  Here,  within 
a  compass  of  nineteen  words,  only  three  of  which  are 
words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  six  grand  points  are 
made,  which,  taken  together,  are  sufficient  to  deter 
mine  accurately  the  application  of  this  symbol.  The 
prophet  says,  first,  that  it  is  "another  beast;"  sec 
ondly,  that  when  his  attention  was  turned  to  it,  it 
was  "  coming  up;"  thirdly,  that  it  came  up  "out  of 
the  earth  ;"  fourthly,  that  it  had  "  two  horns  ;"  fifthly, 
that  these  horns  were  like  those  of  "  a  lamb  ;  "  and 
sixthly,  this  symbol  is  introduced  after  the  preceding 
beast  went  into  captivity. 

The  two-horned  beast,  then,  is  "  another  beast,"  in 
addition  to,  and  different  from,  the  papal  beast  which 
the  prophet  hud  just  had  under  consideration  ;  that 
is,  it  symbolizes  a  power  separate  and  distinct  from 
that  which  is  denoted  by  the  preceding  beast.  This 
which  John  calls  "  another  beast "  is  certainly  no 
part  of  the  first  beast ;  and  the  power  symbolized  by 
it  is  likewise  no  part  of  that  which  is  intended  by 
that  beast.  This  is  fatal  to  the  claim  of  those,  who, 
to  avoid  the  application  of  this  symbol  to  our  own 
government,  say  that  it  denotes  some  phase  of  the 
papacy  ;  for  in  that  case  it  would  be  a  part  of  the 
preceding  or  leopard  beast. 

To  avoid  this  difficulty,  it  is  claimed  that  the  two- 
horned  beast  represents  the  religious  or  ecclesiastical, 
and  the  leopard  beast  the  civil,  power  of  Rome  under 
papal  rule,  and  that  these  symbols  correspond  to  the 
beast  and  woman  in  Rev.  17,  the  one  representing 
the  civil  power,  the  other  the  ecclesiastical.  But  this 


WHERE   LOCATED?  107 

claim  also  falls  to  the  ground  just  as  soon  as  it  is 
shown  that  the  leopard  beast  represents  the  religious 
as  well  as  the  civil  element  of  that  power.  And 
nothing  is  easier  than  to  show  this. 

Take  the  first  symbol,  the  dragon.  What  does  it 
represent  ? — Rome.  But  this  is  not  enough  ;  for 
Rome  has  presented  two  great  phases  to  the  world, 
and  the  inquirer  wants  to  know  which  one  is  intended 
by  this"  symbol.  The  answer  then  is,  Pagan  Rome  ; 
but  just  as  soon  as  we  add  "  pagan,"  we  introduce  a 
religious  element  ;  for  paganism  is  one  of  the  might 
iest  systems  of  false  religion  ever  devised  by  the 
archenemy  of  truth.  It  was,  then,  the  religious  ele 
ment  in  the  empire  that  determined  what  symbol 
should  be  used  to  represent  it  ;  and  the  dragon  rep 
resented  Rome  while  under  the  control  of  a  partic 
ular  form  of  religion. 

But  the  time  comes  when  another  symbol  is  intro 
duced  upon  the  scene — the  leopard  beast  arises  out 
of  the  sea.  What  power  is  symbolized  by  this  ? 
The  answer  is  still,  Rome.  But  the  dragon  symbol 
ized  Rome,  and  why  not  let  that  symbol  continue 
to  represent  it  ?  Whoever  attempts  to  answer  this 
question  must  say  that  it  is  because  a  change  had 
taken  place  in  the  power.  What  change  ?  Two 
kinds  of  changes  are  conspicuous  in  the  history  of 
Rome, — changes  in  the  form  of  government,  and  a 
change  in  religion.  But  this  cannot  denote  any 
change  in  the  form  of  government  ;  for  the  seven 
different  forms  of  government  that  Rome  consecu 
tively  assumed  are  represented  by  the  seven  heads 
of  the  dragon  and  the  seven  heads  of  the  leopard 
beast.  The  religious  change  alone  must  therefore  be 
denoted  by  this  change  of  symbols.  Paganism  and 


108  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

Christianity  coalesced,  and  the  mongrel  production 
was  the  papacy  ;  and  this  new  religion,  and  this  alone, 
made  a  change  in  the  symbol  necessary.  Every 
candid  mind  must  assent  to  this  ;  and  this  assent  is 
an  admission  of  the  utter  absurdity  of  trying  to  limit 
this  symbol  to  the  civil  power  alone.  So  far  from  its 
representing  the  civil  power  alone,  it  is  to  the  ecclesi 
astical  clement  that  it  owes  its  very  existence.  The 
ecclesiastical  is  therefore  the  essential  element,  and 
without  it  the  symbol  could  not  exist. 

That  the  leopard  beast  represents  ecclesiastical  as 
well  as  civil  power  is  further  shown  in  the  arguments 
already  presented  to  prove  that  this  beast  is  identical 
with  the  little  horn  of  the  fourth  beast  of  Daniel  7, 
which  symbolizes  the  papacy  in  all  its  component 
parts  and  through  all  its  history.  It  is  the  leopard 
beast  alone  that  is  identical  with  this  little  horn,  not 
the  leopard  beast  and  the  twro-horned  beast  taken 
together. 

Again,  Pagan  Rome  gave  its  seat  to  the  papacy. 
The  dragon  gave  his  seat  to  the  leopard  beast.  If 
it  takes  both  the  leopard  beast  and  the  two-horned 
beast  to  constitute  the  papacy,  the  prophet  should 
have  said  that  the  dragon  gave  his  seat  and  power 
to  these  two  beasts  combined.  The  fact  that  this 
transfer  was  to  the  leopard  beast  alone,  is  proof  pos 
itive  that  that  beast  alone  symbolizes  the  papacy  in 
its  entirety. 

When,  therefore,  John  calls  the  two-horned  beast 
"another  beast,"  it  is  certain  that  he  does  not  mean 
any  particular  phase,  or  any  part,  of  the  papal 
power. 

It  is  claimed'  by  others  that  the  two-horned  beast 
represents  England  ;  by  still  others,  France  ;  and  by 


WHERE   LOCATED?  109 

some,  Russia,  etc.  The  first,  among-  many  other 
fatal  objections  to  all  these  applications,  is,  that  the 
territory  occupied  by  all  these  powers  is  already  ap 
propriated  by  preceding  symbols.  The  prophecy 
does  not  read  that  the  lion,  the  bear,  or  the  leopard 
re-appeared  under  a  new  phase  ;  or  that  one  of  the 
ten  horns  of  the  leopard  beast  became  another  beast. 
If  the  two-horned  beast  symbolized  any  of  these,  it 
would  be  a  part  of  other  beasts  instead  of  "  another 
beast,"  separate  and  distinct  as  it  must  be  from  all 
the  rest.  It  is  a  law  of  symbols  that  each  one  oc 
cupies  territory  peculiarly  its  own,  that  is,  the  ter 
ritory  which  constituted  the  original  government 
was  no  part  of  that  which  had  been  occupied  by  the 
previous  powers.  Thus,  Babylon  had  its  territory  ; 
and  Medo-Persia  rose  on  the  territory  not  occupied 
by  Babylon  ;  and  Medo-Persia  and  Babylon  together 
covered  all  that  portion  of  Asia  known  to  ancient 
civilization.  The  Grecian,  or  Macedonian,  kingdom 
arose  to  the  west  of  them,  occupying  all  Eastern 
Europe,  so  far  as  it  was  then  known  to  the  ancients. 
Rome  rose  still  to  the  west,  in  territory  unoccupied 
by  Grecia.  Rome  was  divided  into  ten  kingdoms  ; 
but  though  Rome  conquered  the  world,  we  look  for 
these  ten  kingdoms  only  in  that  territory  which  had 
never  been  included  in  other  kingdoms.  We  look 
not  to  Eastern  Europe,  for  that  was  included  in  the 
dominion  of  the  third  beast  ;  nor  to  Asia,  for  that 
constituted  the  empires  of  the  first  and  second  beasts  ; 
but  to  Western  Europe,  which  territory  was  unoccu 
pied  until  taken  by  Rome  and  its  divisions. 

The  ten  kingdoms  which  rose  out  of  the  old  Ro 
man  empire  are  enumerated  as  follows  by  Machia- 
vel,  indorsed  by  Bishop  Newton,  Faber,  and  Dr. 


HO  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

Hales:  1.  The  Huns;  2.  The  Ostrogoths;  3.  The 
Visigoths  ;  4.  The  Franks  ;  5.  The  Vandals  ;  6.  The 
Suevi  ;  7.  The  Burgundians  ;  8.  The  Heruli  ;  9.  The 
Anglo-Saxons  ;  and  10.  The  Lombards.  These  king 
doms  have  since  been  known,  says  Scott,  as  the  "  ten 
kingdoms  of  the  Western  empire,"  and  they  are  dis 
tinguishable  at  the  present  day,  some  of  them  even 
by  their  modern  names  ;  as,  Hungary  from  the  Huns, 
Lombardy  from  the  Lombards,  France  from  the 
Franks,  and  England  from  the  Anglo-Saxons.  These 
ten  kingdoms  being  denoted  by  the  ten  horns  of  the 
leopard  beast,  it  is  evident  that  all  the  territory  in 
cluded  in  these  ten  kingdoms  is  to  be  considered  as 
covered  by  that  symbol.  England  is  one  of  these 
ten  kingdoms  ;  France  is  another.  If,  therefore,  we 
say  that  either  of  these  is  the  one  represented  by  the 
two-horned  beast,  we  make  one  of  the  horns  of  the 
leopard  beast  constitute  the  two-horned  beast.  But 
this  the  prophecy  forbids  ;  for  while  John  sees  the 
leopard  beast  fully  developed,  with  his  horns  all  com 
plete  and  distinct,  he  beholds  the  two-horned  beast 
coming  up,  and  calls  it  "  another  beast."  We  are 
therefore  to  look  for  the  government  which  this  beast 
symbolizes  in  some  country  outside  the  territory  oc 
cupied  by  the  four  beasts  and  the  ten  horns  already 
referred  to.  But  these,  as  we  have  seen,  cover  all 
the  available  portions  of  the  eastern  hemisphere. 

Another  consideration  pointing  to  the  locality  of 
this  power  is  drawn  from  the  fact  that  John  saw  it 
arising  from  the  earth.  If  the  sea  from  which  the 
leopard  beast  arose  (Rev.  13  : 1)  denotes  peoples,  na 
tions,  and  multitudes,  as  John  expressly  affirms  that 
it  does  in  Rev.  17:  15,  his  use  of  the  word  "earth" 


WHERE   LOCATED?  Ill 

here  would  suggest,  by  contrast,  a  new  and   previ 
ously-unoccupied  territory. 

Being  thus  excluded  from  eastern  continents  and 
impressed  with  the  idea  of  looking  to  territory  not 
previously  known  to  civilization,  we  turn  of  neces 
sity  to  the  western  hemisphere.  And  this  is  in  full 
harmony  with  the  ideas  already  quoted,  and  more 
which  might  be  presented,  that  the  progress  of  em 
pire  is  with  the  sun  around  the  earth  from  east  to 
west.  Commencing  in  Asia,  the  cradle  of  the  race, 
it  would  end  on  this  continent,  which  completes  the 
circuit.  Bishop  Berkeley,  in  his  celebrated  poem  on 
America,  written  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago, 
in  the  following  forcible  lines,  pointed  out  the  then 
future  position  of  America,  and  its  connection  with 
preceding  empires  : — 

"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way, 

The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  ; 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

By  the  "  first  four  acts  already  past,"  the  bishop  had 
undoubted  reference  to  the  four  universal  kingdoms 
of  Daniel's  prophecy.  A  fifth  great  power,  the  no 
blest  and  the  last,  was,  according  to  his  poem,  to 
arise  this  side  the  Atlantic,  and  here  close  the  drama 
of  time,  as  the  day  here  ends  its  circuit. 

To  what  part  of  the  American  continent  shall  we 
look  for  the  power  in  question  ? — To  the  most  pow 
erful  and  prominent  nation,  certainly.  This  is  so 
self-evident  that  we  need  not  stop  to  pass  in  review 
the  frozen  fragments  of  humanity  on  the  north  of  us, 
nor  the  weak,  superstitious,  semi-barbarous,  revolu 
tionary,  and  uninfluential  kingdoms  to  the  south  of 
us.  No  ;  we  come  to  the  United  States,  and  here 


112  THE   MARVEL    OF 

we  are  held.  To  this  nation  the  question  of  the  lo 
cation  of  the  two-horned  beast  undeviatingly  leads 
us.  * 

As  an  objection  to  this  view,  it  may  occur  to  some 
minds  that  the  two-horned  beast  exercises  all  the 
power  of  the  first  beast  before  him  (Greek,  h&mov, 
literally,  in  his  eyes,  or  before  his  face),  and  does 
wonders  in  his  sight ;  and  how  can  the  United  States, 
separated  by  an  ocean  from  European  kingdoms, 
hold  such  an  intimate  relation  to  them  ?  We  answer, 
Space  and  time  are  annihilated  by  the  telegraph. 
Through  the  Atlantic  cable  (an  enterprise  which,  by 
the  way,  owes  its  origin  to  the  United  States),  the 
lightnings  are  continually  picturing  to  European  be 
holders  the  affairs  of  America.  Any  important  event 
occurring  here  is  described  the  next  hour  in  the  jour 
nals  of  Europe.  So  far  as  the  transmission  of  an  ac 
count  of  our  proceedings  to  the  people  of  the  Old 
World  is  concerned,  it  is  as  if  America  lay  at  the 
mouth  of  the  English  Channel.  - 

And  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are  intently  watching 
our  movements.  Says  Mr.  Townsend  (New  World 
and  Old,  p,  583)  :— 

"  All  the  great  peoples  of  Europe  are  curiously  interested  and 
amazed  in  the  rise  of  America,  and  their  rulers  at  present  compete 
for  our  friendship.  'Europe,'  said  the  prince  Talleyrand  long 
ago,  '  must  have  an  eye  on  America,  and  take  care  not  to  offer 
any  pretext  for  recrimination  or  retaliation.  America  is  growing 
every  day.  She  will  become  a  colossal  power,  and  the  time 
will  come  when  (discoveries  enabling  her  to  communicate  more 
easily  with  Europe)  she  will  want  to  say  a  word  in  our  affairs,  and 
have  a  hand  in  them.'  ' 

The  time  has  come,  and  the  discoveries  have  been 
made,  to  which  Talleyrand  referred.  It  is  almost  as 


WHERE   LOCATED? 


113 


easy  now  to  communicate  with  Europe  as  with  our 
nearest  town.  By  these  things  the  attention  of  the 
world  is  drawn  still  more  strongly  toward  us  ;  and 
thus  whatever  the  United  States  does,  itfis  done  in 
the  sight — yes,  even  before  the  eyes — of  all  Europe. 
One  strong  pillar  in  the  argument  is  thus  firmly 
set.  The  terms  of  the  prophecy  absolutely  fix  the 
location  of  the  power  symbolized  by  the  two-horned 
beast  ;  and  that  location  is  in  this  western  hemisphere. 
It  can  be  nowhere  else.  And  the  conclusion  is  just 
as  unavoidable  that  our  own  nation  is  the  power  in 
question. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


WHEN  MUST  THE  GOVERNMENT  INDICATED  BY  THIS 
SYMBOL  ARISE? 

CAVING  become  satisfied  where  the  power  sym 
bolized  by  the  two-horned  beast  must  be  lo 
cated,  we  now  inquire  respecting  the  time  when 
we  may  look  for  its  development.  At  what  period 
in  this  world's  history  is  the  rise  of  this  power  placed 
in  the  prophecy  ?  On  this  point,  as  on  the  preced 
ing,  the  foundation  for  the  conclusions  at  which  we 
must  arrive  is  already  laid  in  the  facts  elicited  in  ref 
erence  to  the  preceding,  or  leopard  beast.  It  was  at 
the  time  when  this  beast  went  into  captivity,  or  was 
killed  (politically)  with  the  sword  (verse  10),  or 
(which  we  suppose  to  be  the  same  thing)  had  one  of 
its  heads  wounded  to  death  (verse  3),  that  John  saw 
the  two-horned  beast  coming  up.  If  the  leopard 
beast,  as  we  have  conclusively  proved,  signifies  the 
papacy,  and  the  going  into  captivity  met  its  fulfill 
ment  in  the  temporary  overthrow  of  the  popedom  by 
the  French  in  1798,  then  we  have  the  epoch  definitely 
specified  when  we  are  to  look  for  the  rising  of  this 
power.  The  expression,  "  coming  up,"  must  signify 
that  the  power  to  which  it  applies  was  but  newly  or 
ganized,  and  was  then  just  rising  into  prominence 
and  influence.  The  power  represented  by  this  sym 
bol  must,  then,  be  some  power  which  in  1798  stood  in 
this  position  before  the  world. 

That  the  leopard  beast  is  a  symbol  of  the  papacy, 

[114] 


WHEN  DOES    IT   RISE  f  115 

there  can  be  no  question  ;  but  some  may  want  more 
evidence  that  the  wounding  of  one  of  its  heads,  or 
its  going  into  captivity,  was  the  overthrow  of  the  pa 
pacy  in  1798.  This  can  easily  be  given.  A  nation 
being  represented  by  a  wild  beast,  the  government 
of  that  nation,  that  by  which  it  is  controlled,  must, 
as  a  very  clear  matter  of  course,  be  considered  as  an 
swering  to  the  head  of  the  beast.  The  seven  heads 
of  this  beast  would  therefore  denote  seven  different 
governments  ;  but  all  the  heads  pertain  to  one  beast, 
and  hence  all  these  seven  different  forms  of  govern 
ment  pertain  to  one  empire.  But  only  one  form  of 
government  can  exist  in  a  nation  at  one  time  ;  hence 
the  seven  heads  must  denote  seven  forms  of  govern 
ment  to  appear,  not  simultaneously,  but  succes 
sively.  But  these  heads  pertain  alike  to  the  dragon 
and  the  leopard  beast,  from  which  this  one  conclu 
sion  only  can  be  drawn  ;  namely,  that  Rome,  during 
its  whole  history,  embracing  both  its  pagan  and  pa 
pal  phases,  would  change  its  government  six  times, 
presenting  to  the  world  seven  different  forms  in  all. 
And  the  historian  records  just  that  number  as  per 
taining  to  Rome.  Rome  was  ruled  first  by  Kings  ; 
secondly,  by  Consuls  ;  thirdly,  by  Decemvirs  ;  fourthly, 
by  Dictators  ;  fifthly,  by  Triumvirs  ;  sixthly,  by  Em 
perors  ;  and  seventhly,  by  Popes.  See  "  American 
Encyclopedia." 

John  saw  one  of  these  heads  wounded  as  it  were 
to  death.  Which  one  ? — Can  we  tell  ?  Let  it  be 
noticed,  first,  that  it  is  one  of  the  heads  of  the  beast 
which  is  wounded  to  death,  and  not  one  of  the  heads 
of  the  dragon  ;  that  is,  it  is  some  form  of  govern 
ment  which  existed  in  Rome  after  the  change  of 
symbols  from  the  dragon  to  the  leopard  beast.  We 


116  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

then  inquire,  How  many  of  the  different  forms  of  Ro 
man  government  belonged  absolutely  to  the  dragon, 
or  existed  in  Rome  while  it  maintained  its  dragonic, 
or  pagan  form  ?  These  same  seven  heads  are  again 
presented  to  John  in  Rev.  17  ;  and  the  angel  there 
explains  that  they  are  seven  kings,  or  forms  of  gov 
ernment  (verse  10)  ;  and  he  informs  John  that  five 
are  fallen,  and  one  is  ;  that  is,  five  of  these  forms  of 
government  were  already  past  in  John's  day,  and  he 
was  living  under  the  sixth.  Under  what  form  did 
John  live  ?  — The  imperial,  it  being  the  cruel  decree 
of  the  emperor  Domitian  which  banished  him  to  the 
Isle  of  Patmos,  where  this  vision  was  given.  Kings, 
Consuls,  Decemvirs,  Dictators,  and  Triumvirs  were  all 
in  the  past  in  John's  day.  Emperors  were  then  rul 
ing  the  Roman  world  ;  and  the  empire  was  still 
pagan.  Six  of  these  heads,  therefore, — Kings,  Con 
suls,  Decemvirs,  Dictators,  Triumvirs,  and  Emperors, 
— belonged  to  the  dragon  ;  for  they  all  existed. while 
Rome  was  pagan;  and  it  was  no  one  of  these- that 
was  wounded  to  death  ;  for  had  it  been,  John  would 
have  said,  I  saw  one  of  the  heads  of  the  dragon 
wounded  to  death.  The  wound  was  inflicted  after 
the  empire  had  so  changed  in  respect  to  its  religion 
that  it  became  necessary  to  represent  it  by  the  leop 
ard  beast.  But  the  beast  had  only  seven  heads,  and 
if  six  of  them  pertain  to  the  dragon,  only  one  re 
mained  to  have  an  existence  after  this  change  in  the 
empire  took  place.  After  the  Emperors,  the  sixth  and 
last  head  that  existed  in.  Rome  in  its  dragonic  form, 
came  the  Popes,  the  only  head  that  existed  after  the 
empire  had  nominally  become  Christian.  The  "  Ex 
arch  of  Ravenna"  existed  so  "short  a  space"  (Rev. 


WHEN  DOES   IT   RISE?  117 

17 :  10)  that  it  has  no  place  in  the  general  enumera 
tion  of  the  heads  of  this  power. 

From  these  considerations  it  is  evident  that  the 
head  which  received  the  mortal  wound  was  none 
other  than  the  papal  head.  This  conclusion  cannot 
be  shaken.  We  have  now  only  to  inquire  when  the 
papal  head  was  wounded  to  death.  It  could  not 
certainly  be  till  after  the  papacy  had  reached  that 
degree  of  development  that  caused  it  to  be  mentioned 
on  the  prophetic  page.  But  after  it  was  once  estab 
lished,  the  prophecy  marked  out  for  it  an  uninter 
rupted  rule  of  1260  years,  which  dating  from  its  rise 
in  538,  would  extend  to  1798.  And  right  there  the 
papacy  was,  for  the  time  being,  overthrown.  Gen 
eral  Berthier,  by  order  of  the  French  Directory, 
moved  against  the  dominions  of  the  pope  in  January, 
1798.  February  10,  he  effected  an  entrance  into  the 
self-styled  ''Eternal  City,"  and  on  the  15th  of  the  same 
month  proclaimed  the  establishment  of  the  Roman 
Republic.  The  pope,  after  this  deprivation  of  his 
authority,  was  conveyed  to  France  as  a  prisoner,  and 
died  at  Valence,  Aug.  29,  1799. 

This  would  have  been  the  end  of  the  papacy  had 
this  overthrow  been  made  permanent.  The  wound 
would  have  proved  fatal  had  it  not  been  healed. 
But,  though  the  wound  was  healed,  the  scar  (to  ex 
tend  the  figure  a  little)  has  ever  since  remained.  A 
new  pope  was  elected  in  1800,  and  the  papacy  was 
restored,  but  only  to  a  partial  possession  of  its  former 
privileges. 

Rev.  Geo.  Croly,  A.  M.,  speaking  upon  this  point, 
says  : — - 

"The  extinction  of  torture  and.  secrecy  is  the  virtual  extinction  of 
the  tribunal.  The  power  of  the  pope,  as  a  systematic  persecutor, 


118  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

has  thus  been  annulled  by  the  events  growing  out  of  the  Repub 
lican  era  of  1793." — Croly  on  tlie  Apocalypse,  p.  257. 

Let  the  reader  look  carefully  at  this  event.  It 
furnishes  a  complete  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  ;  and  it 
is  the  only  event  in  all  Roman  history  which  does  this  ; 
for,  though  the  first  six  heads  were  each  in  turn  ex 
terminated,  or  gave  place  to  a  succeeding  head,  of  no 
one  of  them  could  it  be  said  that  it  received  a  deadly 
wound,  which  was  afterward  healed.  And  as  this 
overthrow  of  the  papacy  by  the  French  military 
must  be  the  wounding  of  the  head  mentioned  in  Rev. 
13  :  3,  so,  likewise,  must  it  be  the  going  into  captiv 
ity  and  the  killing  with  the  sword  mentioned  in 
verse  10  ;  for  it  is  an  event  of  the  right  nature  to  ful 
fill  the  prophecy,  and  one  which  occurred  at  the  right 
time  ;  namely,  at  the  end  of  the  time,  times,  and  a 
half,  the  forty-two  months,  or  the  1260  years  ;  and 
no  other  event  can  be  found  answering  to  the  rec 
ord  in  these  respects.  We  are  not  left,  therefore, 
with  any  discretionary  power  in  the  application  of 
this  prophecy ;  for  God,  by  his  providence,  has 
marked  the  era  of  its  accomplishment  in  as  plain  a 
manner  as  though  he  had  proclaimed  with  an  audible 
voice,  "  Behold  here  the  accomplishment  of  my  pro 
phetic  word  !  " 

Thus  clearly  is  the  exact  time  when  we  are  to  look 
for  the  rise  of  the  two-horned  beast  indicated  in  the 
prophecy.;  for  John,  as  soon  as  he  beholds  the  cap 
tivity  of  the  first  or  leopard  beast,  says,  "  And  I  be 
held  another  beast  coming  up."  And  his  use  of  the 
present  participle,  "coming"  up,  clearly  connects 
this  view  with  the  preceding  verse,  and  shows  it  to 
be  an  event  transpiring  simultaneously  with  the 
going  into  captivity  of  the  previous  beast.  If  he  had 


WHEN  DOES   IT   RISE?  119 

said,  "  And  I  had  seen  another  beast  coming  up,"  it 
would  prove  that  when  he  saw  it,  it  was  coming  up, 
but  that  the  time  when  he  beheld  it  was  indefinitely 
in  the  past.  If  he  had  said,  "  And  I  beheld  another 
beast  which  had  come  up,"  it  would  prove  that  al 
though  his  attention  was  called  to  it  at  the  time 
when  the  first  beast  went  into  captivity,  yet  its  rise 
was  still  indefinitely  in  the  past.  But  when  he  says, 
"  I  beheld  another  beast  coming'  up"  it  proves  that 
when  he  turned  his  eyes  from  the  captivity  of  the 
first  beast,  he  saw  another  power  just  then  in  the 
process  of  rapid  development  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  So,  then,  about  the  year  1798,  the  star  of 
that  power  which  is  symbolized  by  the  two-horned 
beast  must  be  seen  rising  over  the  horizon  of  the  na 
tions,  and  claiming  its  place  in  the  political  heavens. 
In  view  of  these  considerations,  it  is  useless  to  speak 
of  this  power  as  having  arisen  ages  in  the  past.  To 
attempt  such  an  application  is  to  show  one's  self  ut 
terly  reckless  in  regard  to  the  plainest  statements  of 
inspiration. 

Again,  the  work  of  the  two-horned  beast  is  plainly 
located,  by  verse  1*2,  this  side  the  captivity  of  the 
first  beast.  It  is  there  stated,  in  direct  terms,  that 
the  two-horned  beast  causes  "  the  earth  and  them 
which  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first  beast,  whose 
deadly  wound  was  healed."  But  worship  could  not 
be  rendered  to  a  beast  whose  deadly  wound  was 
healed,  till  after  that  healing  was  accomplished. 
This  brings  the  worship  which  this  two-horned 
beast  enforces  unmistakably  within  the  present  cent 
ury. 

Says  Kid.  J.  Litch  (Restitution,  p.  lol)  :— 


120  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"The  two-horned  beast  is  represented  as  a  power  existing  and 
performing  his  part  after  the  death  and  revival  of  the  first  beast." 

Mr.  Wesley,  in  his  notes  on  Rev.  14,  written  in 
1754,  says  of  the  two-horned  beast : — 

"He  has  not  yet  come,  though  he  cannot  be  far  off  ;  for  he  is 
to  appear  at  the  end  of  the  forty-two  months  of  the  first  beast." 

We  find  three  additional  declarations  in  the  book 
of  Revelation  which  prove,  in  a  general  sense,  that 
the  two-horned  beast  performs  his  work  with  that 
generation  of  men  who  are  to  behold  the  closing  up 
of  all  earthly  scenes,  and  the  second  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  these  will  complete  the  ar 
gument  on  this  point. 

1.  The  first  is  the  message  of  the  third  angel, 
brought  to  view  in  the  14th  of  Revelation.  It  is  not 
our  purpose  to  enter  into  an  exposition  of  the  three 
messages  of  that  chapter.  We  call  the  attention  of 
the  reader  to  only  one  fact,  which  must  be  apparent 
to  all ;  and  that  is,  that  the  third  of  these  messages 
is  the  last  warning  of  clanger  and  the  last  offer  of 
mercy  before  the  close  of  human  probation  ;  for  the 
event  which  immediately  follows  is  the  appearance 
of  one  like  the  Son  of  man,  on  a  white  cloud,  com 
ing  to  reap  the  harvest  of  the  earth  (verse  14),  which 
can  represent  nothing  else  but  the  second  advent  of 
the  Lord  from  heaven.  Whatever  views,  therefore, 
a  person  may  take  of  the  first  and  second  messages, 
and  at  whatever  time  he  may  apply  them,  it  is  very 
certain  that  the  third  and  last  one  covers  the  closing 
hours  of  time,  and  reaches  down  to  the  second  com 
ing  of  Christ.  And  what  is  the  burden  of  this  mes 
sage  ?  It  is  a  denunciation  of  the  unmingled  wrath 
of  God  against  those  who  worship  the  beast  and  his 


WHEN   DOES    IT   RISE?  121 

image.  But  this  worship  of  the  beast  and  his  image 
is  the  very  practice  which  the  two-horned  beast  en 
deavors  to  enforce  upon  the  people.  The  third  mes 
sage,  then,  is  a  warning1  against  the  work  of  the  two- 
horned  beast.  And  as  there  would  be  no  propriety 
in  supposing  this  warning  to  be  given  after  that 
work  was  performed,  since  it  could  appropriately  be 
given  only  when  the  two-horned  beast  was  about  to 
enforce  that  worship,  and  while  he  was  endeavoring 
to  enforce  it,  and  since  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
immediately  succeeds  the  proclamation  of  this  mes 
sage,  it  follows  that  the  duties  enjoined  by  this  mes 
sage,  and  the  decrees  enforced  by  the  two-horned 
beast,  constitute  the  last  test  to  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  world  ;  and  hence  the  two-horned  beast  per 
forms  his  work,  not  ages  in  the  past,  but  among  the 
last  generation  of  men. 

2.  The  second  passage  showing  that  the  work  of 
the  two-horned  beast  is  performed   just    before   the 
close  of  time,  is  found  in  Rev.  15  :  2,  which  we  have 
shown  to  refer    to  the  same  company  spoken  of  in 
chapter    11:1-5.       Here    is    a    company    who    have 
gained  the  victory  over  the  beast  and  his  image,  and 
the    mark   and    the    number  of  his    name  ;    in  other 
words,  they   have    been  in  direct  conflict    with    the 
two-horned  beast,  which   endeavors    to   enforce    the 
worship  of  the  beast  and  the  reception  of  his  mark. 
And  these  are  "  redeemed  from  among  men  "  (14  :  4), 
or  are  translated  from  amoncf  the  living  at  the  sec- 

o  o 

ond  coming  of  Christ.  1  Cor.  15:51,  52;  1  Thess. 
4  :  16,  17.  This,  again,  shows  conclusively  that  it  is 
the  last  generation  which  witnesses  the  work  of  this 
power. 

3.  The  third  passage  is  Rev.  19  :  20,  which  speaks 


122  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

of  the  two-horned  beast  under  the  title  of  the  false 
prophet,  and  mentions  a  point  not  given  in  Rev.  13  ; 
namely,  the  doom  he  is  to  meet.  In  the  battle  of  the 
great  day,  which  takes  place  in  connection  with  the 
second  coming  of  Christ  (verses  11-19),  the  false 
prophet,  or  two-horned  beast,  is  cast  alive  into  a  lake 
of  fire  burning  with  brimstone  ;  and  the  word  "alive" 
signifies  that  this  power  will  be  at  that  time  a  living 
power,  performing  its  part  in  all  its  strength  and 
vigor.  This  power  is  not  to  pass  off  the  stage  of  ac 
tion  and  be  succeeded  by  another,  but  is  to  be  a 
ruling  power  till  destroyed  by  the  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords  when  he  comes  to  dash  the  nations 
in  pieces  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Ps.  2  :  9. 

The  sum  of  the  argument,  then,  on  this  matter  of 
chronology,  is  this  :  That  the  two-horned  beast  does 
not  come  into  the  field  of  this  vision  previous  to  the 
year  1798  ;  that  it  performs  its  work  while  the  last 
generation  of  men  is  living  on  the  earth  ;  and  that 
it  comes  up  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  a  living 
power  in  the  full  vigor  of  its  strength. 

As  it  was  shown  in  the  argument  on  the  location 
of  the  two-horned  beast  that  we  are  limited  in  our 
application  to  the  Western  Continent,  so  we  are  lim 
ited  still  further  by  its  chronology  ;  for  it  must  not 
only  be  some  power  which  arises  this  side  of  the  At 
lantic,  but  one  which  is  seen  coming  up  here  at  a 
particular  time.  Taking  our  stand,  then,  in  the  year 
1798,  the  time  indicated  in  the  prophecy,  we  invite 
the  careful  attention  of  the  reader  to  this  question  : 
What  independent  power  in  either  North  or  South 
America  was  at  that  time  ''coming  up  "  m  a  manner 
to  answer  to  the  conditions  of  the  prophecy  ?  All 
that  part  of  North  America  lying  to  the  riorth  of  us 


WHEN  DOES   IT  RISE?  123 

was  under  the  dominion  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain. 
Mexico,  to  the  southwest,  was  a  Spanish  colony. 
Passing  to  South  America,  Brazil  belonged  to  Port 
ugal  ;  and  most  of  other  South  American  States 
were  under  Spanish  control.  In  short,  there  was  not 
then  a  single  civilized,  independent  government  in 
the  New  World,  except  our  own  United  States.  This 
nation,  therefore,  must  be  the  one  represented  in  the 
prophecy  ;  for  no  other  answers  the  specifications  in 
the  least  degree.  It  has  always  taken  the  lead  of  all 
European  settlements  in  this  hemisphere.  It  was 
"  coming  up  "  at  the  exact  time  indicated  in  the  proph 
ecy.  Like  a  lofty  monument  in  a  field  all  its  own, 
we  here  behold  the  United  States  grandly  overtower- 
ing  all  the  continent.  So  far  as  God's  providence 
works  among  the  nations  for  the  accomplishment  of 
his  purposes,  it  is  visible  in  the  development  of  this 
country  as  an  agent  to  fulfill  his  word.  On  these 
two  vital  points  of  LOCATION  and  CHRONOLOGY,  the 
arguments  which  show  that  OUR  COUNTRY  is  THE 
ONE  represented  by  the  symbol  of  the  two-horned 
beast  are  ABSOLUTELY  CONCLUSIVE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  HAS  ARISEN  IN  THE  EXACT 
MANNER  INDICATED  BY  THE  SYMBOL 


manner  in  which  the  two-horned  beast  was 
seen  coming  up  shows,  equally  with  its  location 
and  its  chronology,  that  it  is  a  symbol  of  the 
United  States.  John  says  he  saw  the  beast  coming 
up  "  out  of  the  earth."  And  this  expression  must 
have  been  designedly  used  to  point  out  the  contrast 
between  the  rise  of  this  beast  and  that  of  other  na 
tional  prophetic  symbols.  The  four  beasts  of  Dan.  7 
and  the  leopard  beast  of  Rev.  13  all  arose  out  of  the 
sea.  Says  Daniel,  "  The  four  winds  of  the  heaven 
strove  upon  the  great  sea  ;  and  four  beast  came  up 
from  the  sea."  The  sea  denotes  peoples,  nations,  and 
tongues  (Rev.  17  :  15),  and  the  winds  denote  political 
strife  and  commotion.  Jer.  25  :  32,  33.  There  was, 
then,  in  this  scene,  the  dire  commotion  of  nature's 
mightiest  elements,  —  the  wind  above,  the  waters  be 
neath,  the  fury  of  the  gale,  the  roaring  and  dashing 
of  the  waves,  and  the  tumult  of  the  raging  storm  ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  this  war  of  elements,  as  if  aroused 
from  the  depths  of  the  sea  by  the  fearful  commotion, 
these  beasts  one  after  another  appeared.  In  other 
words,  the  governments  of  which  these  beasts  were 
symbols  owed  their  origin  to  movements  among  the 
people-  which  would  be  well  represented  by  the  sea 
lash'ed  into  foam  by  the  sweeping  gale  ;  they  arose 

[124] 


MANNER   OF  ITS  RISE.  125 

by  the  upheavals  of  revolution,  and  through  the  strife 
of  war. 

But  when  the  prophet  beholds  the  rising  of  the 
two-horned  beast,  how  different  the  scene  !  No  po 
litical  tempest  sweeps  the  horizon,  no  armies  clash 
together  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  He  does  not  be 
hold  the  troubled  and  restless  surface  of  the  waters, 
but  a  calm  and  immovable  expanse  of  earth.  And 
out  of  this  earth,  like  a  plant  growing  up  in  a  quiet 
and  sheltered  spot,  he  sees  this  beast,  bearing  on  his 
head  the  horns  of  a  lamb,  those  eloquent  symbols  of 
youth  and  innocence,  daily  augmenting  in  bodily 
proportions,  and  daily  increasing  in  physical  strength. 

If  any  one  should  here  point  to  the  war  of  the  Rev 
olution  as  an  event  which  destroys  the  force  of  this 
application,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  reply  :  1.  That 
war  was  at  least  fifteen  years  in  the  past  when  the 
two-horned  beast  wras  introduced  into  the  field  of 
this  vision  ;  and  2.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  was 
not  a  war  of  conquest.  It  was  not  waged  to  over 
throw  any  other  kingdom  and  build  this  government 
on  its  ruins,  but  only  to  defend  the  just  rights  of  the 
American  people.  An  act  of  resistance  against  con 
tinual  attempts  of  injustice  and  tyranny  cannot  cer 
tainly  be  placed  in  the  same  catalogue  with  wars  of 
aggression  and  conquest.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  war  of  1812.  Hence  these  conflicts  do  not  even 
partake  of  the  nature  of  objections  to  the  application 
here  set  forth. 

The  same  view  of  this  point  is  taken  by  eminent 
statesmen  here  and  elsewhere.  In  a  speech  at  the 
"  Centennial  Dinner,"  at  the  Westminster  Palace 
Hotel,  London,  July  4,  1876,  J.  P.  Thompson,  LL.  D., 
said  : — 


126  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS 

"I  thank  God  that  this  birthday  of  the  United  States  as  a  na 
tion  does  not  commemorate  a  victory  of  arms.  War  proceeded  it, 
gave  occasion  to  it,  followed  it  ;  but  the  figure  of  Independence 
shaped  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1776,  wears  no  helmet,  brandishes 
no  sword,  and  carries  no  stain  of  slaughter  and  blood.  I  recog 
nize  all  that  war  has  done  for  the  emancipation  of  the  race,  the 
progress  of  society,  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of  liberty  it 
self  ;  I  honor  the  heroes  who  have  braved  the  fury  of  battle  for 
country  and  right,  I  appreciate  the  virtues  to  which  war  at  times 
has  trained  nations  as  well  as  leaders  and  armies  ;  yet  I  confess 
myself  utterly  wearied  and  sated  with  these  monuments  of  victory 
in  every  capital  of  Europe,  made  of  captured  cannon,  and  sculpt 
ured  over  with  scenes  of  carnage.  I  am  sick  of  that  type  of  his 
tory  that  teaches  our  youth  that  the  Alexanders  and  Caesars,  the 
Frederics  and  Napoleons,  are  the  great  men  who  have  made  the 
world  ;  and  it  is  with  a  sense  of  relief  and  refreshment  that  I  turn 
to  a  nation  whose  birthday  commemorates  a  great  moral  idea,  a 
principle  of  ethics  applied  to  political  society — that  government 
represents  the  whole  people,  for  the  equal  good  of  all.  No  tide 
of  battle  marks  this  day  ;  but  itself  marks  the  high  water  line  of 
heaving,  surging  humanity."— United  States  as  a  Nation,  pp.  xiii, 
xiv. 

Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts  quotes  with  approval  a  say 
ing  of  Burke,  respecting  our  Revolution,  as  follows  : — 

"A  great  revolution  has  happened — a  revolution  made,  not  by 
chopping  and  changing  of  power  in  any  of  the  existing  States,  but  by 
the  appearance  of  a  new  State,  of  a  new  species  in  a  new  part  of  the 
globe.  It  has  made  as  great  a  change  in  all  the  relations  and 
balances  and  gravitations  of  power,  as  the  appearance  of  a  new 
planet  would  in  the  system  of  the  solar  world.  ' 

The  word  which  John  uses  to  describe  the  manner 
in  which  this  beast  comes  up  is  very  expressive.  It 
is  avaftaivov  (anabainon),  one  of  the  prominent  defini 
tions  of  which  is,  "  To  grow  or  spring  up  as  a  plant." 
And  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  this  very  figure  has 
been  chosen  by  political  writers  as  the  one  convey 
ing  the  best  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  this  govern- 


MANNER    OF   ITS   RISE.  127 

ment  has  arisen.  Mr.  G.  A.  Townsend,  in  his  work 
entitled,  "  The  New  World  Compared  with  the  Old," 
p.  462,  says  :— 

"Since  America  was  discovered,  she  lias  been  a  subject  of  rev 
olutionary  thought  in  Europe.  The  mystery  of  her  coming  forth 
from  vacancy,  the  marvel  of  her  wealth  in  gold  and  silver,  the 
spectacle  of  her  captives  led  through  European  capitals,  filled  the 
minds  of  men  with  unrest ;  and  unrest  is  the  first  stage  of  revolu 
tion." 

On  p.  635,  he  further  says  : — 

"In  this  web  of  islands — the  West  Indies — began  the  life  of 
both  [North  and  South]  Americas.  There  Columbus  saw  land, 
there  Spain  began  her  baneful  and  brilliant  Western  Empire  ; 
thence  Cortez  departed  for  Mexico,  De  Soto  for  the  Mississippi, 
Balboa  for  the  Pacific,  and  Pizarro  for  Peru.  The  history  of  the 
United  States  was  separated  by  a  beneficent  Providence  far  from 
this  wild  and  cruel  history  of  the  rest  of  the  continent,  and  like  a 
silent  seed  'ire  grew  into  empire  [italics  ours];  while  empire  itself, 
beginning  in  the  South,  was  swept  by  so  interminable  a  hurricane 
that  what  of  its  history  we  can  ascertain  is  read  by  the  very 
lightnings  that  devastated  it.  The  growth  of  English  America 
may  be  likened  to  a  series  of  lyrics  sung  by  separate  singers, 
which,  coalescing,  at  last  make  a  vigorous  chorus,  and  this,  at 
tracting  many  from  afar,  swells  and  is  prolonged,  until  presently 
it  assumes  the  dignity  and  proportions  of  epic  song." 

A  writer  in  the  Dublin  Nation,  about  the  year 
1850,  spoke  of  the  United  States  as  a  wonderful  em 
pire  which  was  "emerging"  and  "  amid  the  silence  of 
tJie  earth  daily  adding  to  its  power  and  pride." 

In  Martyn's  "  History  of  the  Great  Reformation," 
Vol.  iv.  p.  238,  is  an  extract  from  an  oration  deliv 
ered  by  Edward  Everett  on  the  English  exiles  who 
founded  this  government,  in  which  he  says : — 

"  Did  they  look  for  a  retired  spot,  inoffensive  from  its  obscurity, 
safe  in  its  remoteness  from  the  haunts  of  despots,  where  the  little 
church  of  Leyden  might  enjoy  freedom  of  conscience  ?  Behold  the 


128  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

mighty  regions  over  which  in  peaceful  conquest — victoria  sine  clade — 
they  have  borne  the  banners  of  the  cross." 

We  now  ask  the  reader  to  look  at  tnese  expres 
sions  side  by  side, — "  coming  up  out  of  the  earth," 
"  coming  forth  from  vacancy,"  "  emerging  amid  the 
silence  of  the  earth,"  "like  a  silent  seed  we  grew  into 
empire,"  "  mighty  regions "  secured  by  "  peaceful 
conquest."  The  first  is  from  the  prophet,  stating 
what  would  be  when  the  two-horned  beast  should 
arise  ;  the  others  are  from  political  writers,  telling 
what  has  been  in  the  history  of  our  own  government. 
Can  any  one  fail  to  see  that  the  last  four  are  exactly 
synonymous  with  the  first,  and  that  they  record  a 
complete  accomplishment  of  the  prediction  ?  And 
what  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  those  who  have  thus 
recorded  the  fulfillment  have,  without  any  reference  to 
the  prophecy,  used  the  very  figure  which  the  prophet 
employed.  These  men,  therefore,  being  judges, — 
men  of  large  and  cultivated  minds,  whose  powers  of 
discernment  all  will  acknowledge  to  be  sufficiently 
clear, — it  is  certain  that  the  particular  manner  in 
which  the  United  States  has  arisen,  so  far  as  it  con 
cerns  its  relation  to  other  nations,  answers  most 
strikingly  to  the  development  of  the  symbol  under 
consideration. 

We  now  extend  the  inquiry  a  step  further  :  Has  the 
United  States  "come  up"  in  a  manner  to  fulfill  the 
prophecy  in  respect  to  the  achievements  this  govern 
ment  has  accomplished  ?  Has  the  progress  made 
been  sufficiently  great  and  sufficiently  rapid  to  cor 
respond  to  that  visible  and  perceptible  growth  which 
John  saw  in  the  two-horned  beast  ? 

In  view  of  what  has  already  been  presented  in 
Chapter  II.,  this  question  need  not  be  asked.  To 


MANNER    OF  ITS   RISE.  129 

show  how  the  development  of  our  country  answers 
to  the  "  coming  up  "  of  the  symbol,  would  be  but  to 
repeat  the  evidence  there  given.  When  was  the 
wonderful  national  development  indicated  by  the 
two-horned  beast  to  appear  ? — In  the  very  era  of  the 
world's  history  where  our  own  government  has  ap 
peared.  Where  was  it  to  be  witnessed  ? — In  that 
territory  which  our  own  government  occupies.  We 
call  the  attention  of  the  reader  again  to  the  wonder 
ful  facts  stated  in  Chapter  II.  Their  significance  is 
greatly  enhanced  by  the  representations  of  that  por 
tion  of  the  prophecy  we  are  now  considering.  Read 
again  the  statement  from  Macmillan  &  Co.,  on  p.  26, 
showing  that  during  the  half  century  ending  in  1867, 
the  United  States  added  to  its  domain  over  fourteen 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  territory  more 
than  any  other  single  nation  added  to  its  area,  and 
over  eight  hundred  thousand  more  than  was  added 
to  their  respective  kingdoms  by  all  the  other  nations 
of  the  earth  put  together.  Its  increase  in  population 
and  all  the  resources  of  national  strength  during  the 
same  time  were  equally  noteworthy.  And  this  mar 
velous  exhibition  has  occurred,  be  it  remembered,  at 
that  very  epoch  when  the  prophecy  of  the  two-horned 
beast  bids  us  look  for  a  new  government  just  then 
arising  to  prominence  and  power  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  According  to  the  argument  on  the 
chronology  of  this  symbol,  we  cannot  go  back  of  the 
present  century  for  its  fulfillment  ;  and  we  submit  to 
the  candid  reader  that  to  apply  this  to  any  other  gov 
ernment  in  the  world  but  our  own  during  this  time, 
would  be  contrary  to  fact,  and  utterly  illogical.  It 
follows,  then,  that  our  own  government  is  the  one  in 
question  ;  for  this  is  the  one  which,  at  the  right  time 


130 


THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 


and  in  the  right  place,  has  been  emphatically  "  com- 
ing  up." 

The  only  objection  we  can  anticipate  is  that  this 
nation  has  progressed  too  fast  and  too  far, — that  the 
government  has  already  outgrown  the  symbol.  But 
what  shall  be  thought  of  those  who  deny  that  it  has 
any  place  in  prophecy  at  all  ?  No  ;  this  prodigy  has 
its  place  on  the  prophetic  page  ;  and  the  path  which 
has  thus  far  led  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  two- 
horned  beast  is  the  prophetic  symbol  of  the  United 
States,  is  hedged  in  on  either  side  by  walls  of  adamant 
that  reach  to  heaven.  To  make  any  other  applica 
tion  is  an  utter  impossibility.  The  thought  would  be 
folly,  and  the  attempt,  abortion. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE  TWO  GREAT  PRINCIPLES  OF  THIS  GOVERNMENT. 


given  us  data  by  which  to  determine 
the  location,  chronology,  and  rapid  rise  of  this 
power,  John  now  proceeds  to  describe  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  two-horned  beast,  and  speak  of  his 
acts  in  such  a  manner  as  clearly  to  indicate  his  char 
acter,  both  apparent  and  real.  Every  specification 
thus  far  examined  has  held  the  application  impera 
tively  to  the  United  States,  and  we  shall  find  this  one 
no  less  strong  in  the  same  direction. 

This  symbol  has  "  two  horns  like  a  lamb."  To  those 
who  have  studied  the  prophecies  of  Daniel  and  John, 
horns  upon  a  beast  are  no  unfamiliar  features.  The 
ram  (Dan.  8  :  3)  had  two  horns.  The  he-goat  that 
came  up  against  him  had  at  first  one  notable  horn  be 
tween  his  eyes.  Verse  5.  This  was  broken,  and  four 
came  up  in  its  place  toward  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 
Verse  8.  From  one  of  these  came  forth  another  horn, 
which  waxed  exceeding  great.  Verse  9.  The  fourth 
beast  of  Dan.  7  had  ten  horns.  Among  these,  a  little 
horn  writh  eyes  and  mouth,  far-seeing,  crafty,  and 
blasphemous,  arose.  Dan.  7  :  8.  The  dragon  and 
leopard  beast  of  Rev.  12  and  13,  denoting  the  same  as 
the  fourth  beast  of  Dan.  7  in  its  two  phases,  have  each 
the  same  number  of  horns,  signifying  the  same  thing. 
And  the  symbol  under  consideration  has  two  horns 
like  a  lamb.  From  the  use  of  the  horns  on  the  other 
symbols,  some  facts  are  apparent  which  may  guide 
us  to  an  understanding  of  their  use  on  this  last  one. 

[131] 


132  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

A  horn  is  used  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  symbol  of 
strength  and  power,  as  in  Detit.  33:17,  and  of  glory 
and  honor,  as  in  Job  16  : 15. 

A  horn  is  sometimes  used  to  denote  a  nation  as  a 
whole,  as  the  four  horns  of  the  goat,  the  little  horn  of 
Dan.  8,  and  the  ten  horns  of  the  fourth  beast  of  Dan. 
7  ;  and  sometimes  some  particular  feature  of  the  gov 
ernment  ;  as  the  first  horn  of  the  goat,  which  denoted 
not  the  nation  as  a  whole,  but  the  civil  power,  as  cen 
tered  in  the  first  king,  Alexander  the  Great. 

Horns  do  not  always  denote  division,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  four  horns  of  the  goat,  etc.  ;  for  the  two  horns 
of  the  ram  denote  the  union  of  Media  and  Persia  in 
one  government. 

A  horn  is  not  used  exclusively  to  represent  civil 
power  ;  for  the  little  horn  of  Daniel's  fourth  beast,  the 
papacy,  was  a  horn  when  it  plucked  up  three  other 
horns,  and  established  itself  in  538.  But  it  was  then 
purely  an  ecclesiastical  power,  and  so  remained  for 
two  hundred  and  seventeen  years  from  that  time, 
when  Pepin,  in  the  year  755,  made  the  Roman  pontiff 
a  grant  of  some  rich  provinces  in  Italy,  which  first 
constituted  him  a  temporal  monarch.  (Goodrich's 
History  of  Jthe  Church,  p.  98  ;  Bower's  History  of 
the  Popes,  vol.  ii,  p.  108.) 

With  these  facts  before  us,  we  are  prepared  to  in 
quire  into  the  significance  of  the  two  horns  which 
pertain  to  this  beast.  Why  does  John  say  that  he 
has  "  two  horns  like  a  lamb  "  ?  Why  not  simply  "  two 
horns"?  It  must  be  because  these  horns  possess  pe 
culiarities  which  indicate  the  character  of  the  power 
to  which  they  belong.  The  horns  of  a  lamb  indicate, 
first,  youthfulness,  and  secondly,  innocence  and  gen 
tleness.  As  a  power  which  has  but  recently  arisen, 


THE    TWO    GREAT   PRINCIPLES.  133 

the  United  States  answers  to  the  symbol  admirably 
in  respect  to  age  ;  while  no  other  power,  as  has  al 
ready  abundantly  been  proved,  can  be  found  to  do 
this.  And  considered  as  an  index  of  power  and  char 
acter,  it  can  be  decided  what  constitutes  the  two 
horns  of  the  government,  if  it  can  be  ascertained  what 
is  the  secret  of  its  strength  and  power,  and  what  re 
veals  its  apparent  character,  or  constitutes  its  out 
ward  profession.  The  Hon.  J.  A.  Bingham  gives  us 
the  clue  to  the  whole  matter  when  he  states  that  the 
object  of  those  who  first,  sought  these  shores  was  to 
found  "  what  the  world  had  not  seen  for  ages  ;  viz.,  a 
Church  without  a  pope,  and  a  State  without  a  king." 
Expressed  in  other  words,  this  would  be  a  govern 
ment  in  which  the  church  should  be  free  from  the 
civil  power,  and  civil  and  religious  liberty  reign  su 
preme. 

And  what  is  the  profession  of  this  government  in 
these  respects  ?  As  already  noticed,  that  great  in 
strument  which  -our  forefathers  set  forth  as  their  bill 
of  rights — the  Declaration  of  Independence — affirms 
that  all  men  are  created  on  a  plane  of  perfect  equality  ; 
that  their  Creator  has  endowed  them  all  alike  with 
certain  rights  which  cannot  be  alienated  from  them  ; 
that  among  these  are  life,  of  which  no  man  can  right 
fully  deprive  another,  and  liberty,  to  which  everyone 
is  alike  entitled,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  in  any 
way  and  every  way  which  does  not  infringe  upon  the 
rights  of  others. 

So  much  for  the  department  of  civil  liberty.  In 
the  domain  of  spiritual  things  the  position  of  this 
government  is  no  less  explicit  and  no  less  broad  and 
liberal.  In  the  Old  World  what  multitudes  have  been 
deprived  of  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 


134  TEE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

ness,"  on  account  of  a  peculiarity  of  belief  in  religious 
matters  !  What  woes  have  been  inflicted  upon  hu 
manity  by  the  efforts  of  spiritual  tyrants  to  fetter 
men's  consciences  !  What  a  grand  safeguard  is  erected 
against  these  evils  in  the  noble  provisions  of  our 
Constitution,  that  no  person  shall  be  prohibited  from 
freely  exercising  his  religion  (on  the  implied  condi 
tion,  of  course,  that  no  other  person's  rights  are  in 
fringed  upon)  ;  that  Congress  shall  make  no  law  in 
regard  to  any  religious  establishment  ;  and  that  no 
religious  profession  shall  qualify,  and  no  lack  of  it  de 
bar,  a  person  from  any  office  of  public  trust  under  the 
United  States.  Thus  the  right  of  worshiping  God  ac 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  is  guar 
anteed  to  every  man. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  political  and  religious  influ 
ence  of  this  nation,  these  points  are  brought  out  more 
fully.  And  to  the  matter  of  that  chapter  the  reader 
is  again  referred. 

Here,  then,  are  two  great  principles  standing  prom 
inently  before  the  people, — Republicanism  and  Prot 
estantism.  And  what  can  be  more  just,  and  innocent, 
and  lamb-like  than  these  ?  And  here,  also,  is  the  se 
cret  of  our  strength  and  power.  Had  some  Caligula 
or  Nero  ruled  this  land,  we  should  look  in  vain  for 
what  we  behold  to-day.  Immigration  would  not  have 
flo\vcd  to  our  shores,  and  this  country  would  never 
have  presented  to  the  world  so  unparalleled  an  ex 
ample  of  national  growth. 

One  of  these  two  lamb-like  horns  may  therefore 
represent  the  great  principle  of  civil  liberty  in  this 
government ;  and  the  other,  the  equally  great  prin 
ciple  of  religious  liberty,  which  men  so  highly  prize, 
and  have  so  earnestly  sought.  As  says  Mr.  Foss  in 


THE    TWO    GREAT   PRINCIPLES,  135 

his  sermon  before  quoted,  "  The  two  evangels  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  are  ours."  How  better  could 
these  two  great  principles  be  symbolized  than  by  the 
horns  of  a  lamb  ?  This  application  is  warranted  by 
the  facts  already  set  forth  respecting  the  horns  of  the 
other  powers.  For  (1.)  the  two  horns  may  belong  to 
one  beast,  and  denote  union  instead  of  division,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  ram  (Dan.  8)  ;  (2.)  a  horn  may  denote 
a  purely  ecclesiastical  element,  as  the  little  horn  of 
Daniel's  fourth  beast  ;  and  (3.)  a  horn  may  denote  the 
civil  power  alone,  as  in  the  case  of  the  first  horn  of 
the  Grecian  goat.  On  the  basis  of  these  facts,  we 
have  these  two  elements,  Republicanism  and  Protest 
antism,  here  united  in  one  government,  and  repre 
sented  by  two  horns  like  the  horns  of  a  lamb.  And 
these  are  nowhere  else  to  be  found  ;  nor  have  they 
appeared,  since  the  time  when  we  could  consistently 
look  for  the  rise  of  the  two-horned  beast,  in  any  na 
tion  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  except  our  own. 

And  with  these  horns  there  is  no  objection  to  be 
found.  They  are  like  those  of  a  lamb,  the  Bible  sym 
bol  of  purity  and  innocence.  The  principles  are  all 
right.  The  outward  appearance  is  unqualifiedly  good. 
But,  alas  for  our  country  !  its  acts  are  to  give  the  lie 
to  its  profession.  The  lamb-like  features  are  first  de 
veloped,  but  the  dragon  voice  is  to  be  heard  hereafter. 


CHAPTER   X. 


INCONSISTENT  UTTERANCES. 

fROM  the  facts  thus  far  elicited  in  this  argument, 
we  have  seen  that  the  government  symbolized 
by  the  two-horned  beast  must  be,— 

1.  Some  government  distinct  from  the  powers   of 
the  Old  World,  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical  ; 

2.  That  it  must  arise  this  side  the  Atlantic  ; 

3.  That  it  must  be  seen  coming  into  influence  and 
notoriety  about  the  year  1Y98  ; 

4.  That  it  must  rise  in  a  peaceful  manner ; 

5.  That  its  progress  must  be  so  rapid  as  to  strike 
the  beholder  with  as  much  wonder  as  the  perceptible 
growth  of  an  animal  before  his  eyes  ; 

6.  That  it  must  be  a  republic  ; 

7.  That  it  must  exhibit  before  the  world,  as  an  in 
dex  of  its  character  and  of  the  motives  by  which  it  is 
governed,  two  great  principles,  in  themselves  perfectly 
just,  innocent,  and  lamb-like  ;  and 

8.  That  it  must  perform  its  work  in    the    present: 
century. 

And  we  have  seen  that  of  these  eight  specifications 
just  two  things  can  be  said  :  First,  that  they  are  all 
perfectly  met  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  thus 
far  ;  and  secondly,  that  they  are  not  met  in  the  his 
tory  of  any  other  government  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Behind  these  eight  lines  of  defense,  therefore,  the  ar 
gument  lies  impregnably  intrenched. 

And  the  American  patriot,  the  man  who  loves  his 
country,  and  takes  a  just  pride  in  her  thus-far  glori 
ous  record  and  noble  achievements  (and  who  does 
[136] 


INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES.  137 

not?),  needs  an  argument  no  less  ponderous  and  im 
movable,  and  an  array  of  evidence  no  less  clear,  to 
enable  him  to  accept  the  painful  sequel  which  the  re 
mainder  of  the  prophecy  also  applies  to  this  govern 
ment,  hitherto  the  best  the  world  has  ever  seen  ;  for 
the  prophet  immediately  turns  to  a  part  of  the  pict 
ure  which  is  dark  with  injustice,  and  marred  by  op 
pression,  deception,  intolerance,  and  wrong. 

After  describing  the  lamb-like  appearance  of  this 
symbol,  John  immediately  acids,  "  And  he  spake  as  a 
dragon."  The  dragon  (Pagan  Rome),  the  first  link 
in  this  chain  of  prophecy,  was  a  relentless  persecutor 
of  the  church  of  God.  The  leopard  beast  (the  Papacy) 
which  follows,  was  likewise  a  persecuting  power, 
grinding  out  for  1260  years  the  lives  of  millions  of  the 
followers  of  Christ.  The  third  actor  in  the  scene,  the 
two-horned  beast,  speaks  like  the  first,  and  thus  shows 
himself  to  be  a  dragon  at  heart;  "for  out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh,"  and  in 
the  heart  actions  are  conceived.  This,  then,  like  the 
others,  is  a  persecuting  power  ;  and  the  reason  that 
any  of  them  are  mentioned  in  prophecy,  is  simply  be 
cause  they  arc  persecuting  powers.  God's  care  for 
the  church,  his  little  flock,  is  what  has  led  him  to  give 
a  revelation  of  his  will,  and  point  out  the  foes  with 
whom  they  would  have  to  contend.  To  his  church, 
all  the  actions  recorded  of  the  dragon  and  leopard 
beast  relate  ;  and  in  reference  to  the  church,  there 
fore,  we  conclude  that  the  dragon  voice  of  this  power 
is  uttered. 

The  " speaking"  of  any  government  must  be  the 
public  promulgation  of  its  will  on  the  part  of  its  law- 
making  and  executive  powers.  Is  this  nation,  then, 
to  issue  unjust  and  oppressive  enactments  against  the 


138  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

people  of  God  ?  Are  the  fires  of  persecution,  which 
in  other  ages  have  devastated  other  lands,  to  be  lighted 
here  also  ?  We  would  fain  believe  otherwise  ;  but 
notwithstanding  the  pure  intentions  of  the  noble 
founders  of  this  government,  notwithstanding  the 
worthy  motives  and  objects  of  thousands  of  Christian 
patriots  to-day,  we  can  but  take  the  prophecy  as  it 
reads,  and  expect  nothing  less  than  what  it  predicts. 
John  heard  this  power  speak,  and  the  voice  was  that 
of  a  dragon. 

Nor  is  this  so  improbable  an  issue  as  might  at  first 
appear.  The  people  of  the  United  States  are  not  all 
saints.  The  masses,  notwithstanding  all  our  gospel 
light  and  gospel  privileges,  are  still  in  a  position  for 
Satan  to  suddenly  fire  their  hearts  with  the  basest  of 
impulses.  This  nation,  as  we  have  seen,  is  to  exist 
to  the  coming  of  Christ  ;  and  the  Bible  very  fully  sets 
forth  the  moral  condition  of  the  people  in  the  days 
that  immediately  precede  that  event.  Iniquity  is  to 
abound,  and  the  love  of  many  to  wax  cold.  Matt. 
24  : 12.  Evil  men  and  seducers  are  to  wax  worse  and 
worse.  2  Tim.  3  : 13.  Scoffers  are  to  arise,  saying, 
"  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?"  2  Pet.  3:3, 
•1.  The  whole  land  is  to  be  full  of  violence,  as  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  and  full  of  licentiousness,  as  was 
Sodom  in  the  clays  of  Lot.  Luke  17  :  26-30.  And 
when  the  Lord  ;ippears,  faith  will  scarcely  be  found 
upon  the  earth  (Luke  18  :  8)  ;  and  those  who  are  ready 
for  his  coming  will  be  but  a  ''little  flock."  Luke  12  : 
32.  Can  the  people  of  God  think  to  go  through  this 
period,  and  not  suffer  persecution  ? — No  ;  this  would 
be  contrary  to  the  lessons  taught  by  all  past  experi 
ence,  and  just  the  reverse  of  what  we  are  warranted 
by  the  word  of  God  to  expect.  "  All  that  will  live 


INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES.  139 

godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution."  If 
ever  this  was  true  in  the  history  of  the  church,  we 
may  expect  it  to  be  emphatically  so  when,  in  the  last 
days,  the  world  is  in  its  aphelion  as  related  to  God, 
and  the  wicked  touch  their  lowest  depths  of  iniquity 
and  sin. 

Let,  then,  such  a  general  spirit  of  persecution  arise 
as  the  foregoing  scriptures  declare  will  in  the  last 
days  exist,  and  what  is  more  probable  than  that  it 
should  assume  an  organized  form  ?  In  this  country 
the  will  of  the  people  is  law.  And  let  there  be  a  gen 
eral  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  certain  op 
pressive  enactments  against  believers  in  unpopular 
doctrines,  and  what  would  be  more  easy  and  natural 
than  that  such  desire  should  immediately  crystallize 
into  systematic  action,  and  oppressive  measures  take 
the  form  of  law  ?  Then  we  should  have  just  what  the 
prophecy  indicates.  Then  would  be  heard  the  voice 
or  the  dragon. 

And  there  are  elements  already  in  existence  which 
furnish  a  luxuriant  soil  for  a  baleful  crop  of  future  evil. 
Our  nation  has  grown  so  rapidly  in  wealth  that  it 
stands  to-day  as  the  richest  nation  in  the  world. 
Wealth  leads  to  luxury,  luxury  to  corruption,  corrup 
tion  to  the  breaking  clown  of  all  moral  barriers  ;  and 
then  the  way  is  open  for  the  worst  passions  to  come 
to  the  front,  and  for  the  worst  principles  to  bear  rule. 
The  prevailing  condition  of  things  is  graphically  de 
scribed  by  the  late  distinguished  and  devoted  J.  H. 
Merle  D'Aubigne,  author  of  the  "  History  of  the  Ref 
ormation."  Just  previous  to  his  death  he  prepared  a 
paper  for  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  in  which  he 
gave  utterance  to  the  following  weighty  and  startling 
words  : — 


140  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"  If  the  meeting  for  which  you  are  assembled  is  an  important 
one,  the  period  at  which  it  is  held  is  equally  so,  not  only  on  ac 
count  of  the  great  things  which  God  is  accomplishing  in  the  world, 
but  also  by  reason  of  the  great  evils  which  the  spirit  of  darkness 
is  spreading  throughout  Christendom.  The  despotic  and  arrogant 
pretensions  of  Rome  have  reached  in  our  days  their  highest  pitch, 
and  we  are  consequently  more  than  ever  called  upon  to  contend 
against  that  power  which  dares  to  usurp  the  divine  attributes. 
But  that  is  not  all.  While  superstition  has  increased,  unbelief  has 
done  so  still  more.  Until  now  the  eighteenth  century — the  age 
of  Yoltaire — was  regarded  as  the  epoch  of  most  decided  infidelity; 
but  how  far  does  the  present  time  surpass  it  in  this  respect !  .  .  . 
But  there  is  a  still  sadder  feature  of  our  times.  Unbelief  has 
reached  even  the  ministry  of  the  word." 

Political  corruption  is  preparing  the  way  for  deeper 
sin.  It  pervades  all  parties.  Look  at  the  dishonest 
means  resorted  to  to  obtain  office, — the  bribery,  the 
deceptions,  the  ballot-stuffing.  Look  at  the  stupen 
dous  revelations  of  municipal  corruption  lately  dis 
closed  in  New  York  City, — millions  upon  millions 
stolen  directly  and  barefacedly  from  the  city  treasury 
by  its  corrupt  officials.  Look  at  the  civil  service  of 
this  government.  Speaking  on  this  point,  The  Nation 
of  Nov.  IT,  1870,  said:- 

"The  newspapers  are  generally  believed  to  exaggerate  most  of 
the  abuses  they  denounce  ;  but  we  say  deliberately,  that  no  denun 
ciation  of  the  civil  service  of  the  United  States  which  has  ever  ap 
peared  in  print  has  come  up,  as  a  picture  of  selfishness,  greed, 
fraud,  corruption,  falsehood,  and  cruelty,  to  the  accounts  which 
are  given  privately  by  those  who  have  seen  the  real  workings  of 
the  machine." 

Revelations  are  continually  coming  to  light,  going 
beyond  the  worst  fears  of  those  who  are  even  the  most 
apprehensive  of  wrongs  committed  among  all  classes 
of  society  at  the  present  time.  The  nation  stands 
aghast  to-day  at  the  evidence  of  corruption  in  high 


INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES. 

places  which  is  thrust  before  its  face.  Yet  a  popular 
ministry,  in  their  softest  and  most  soothing  tones,  de 
clare  that  the  world  is  growing  better,  and  sing  of  a 
good  time  coming. 

The  Detroit  Evening  News  of  March  4,  1870,  refer 
ring  to  Secretary  Belknap's  fall,  said  :— 

"  The  revelations  of  corruption  in  connection  with  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  Federal  government  have  gone  further  than  any 
body's  worst  fears,  in  the  humiliating  intelligence  of  Secretary 
Belknap's  disgrace.  That  among  the  underlings  there  were  to  be 
found  rascals,  might  have  been  expected  in  such  times  as  these, 
but  that  a  minister  of  the  Cabinet  should  have  turned  out  to  be 
nothing  better  than  a  vulgar  thief  is  something  which  must  fill  this 
nation  with  dismay,  and  the  civilized  world  with  contempt.  Where 
is  all  this  to  stop  ?  Are  we  so  utterly  rotten  as  a  people  that  noth 
ing  but  vileness  can  come  uppermost, — that  we  cannot  preserve 
even  the  great  offices  of  the  Cabinet  from  the  possession  of  ras 
cals  ?  " 

Again  the  News  says  :— 

"Washington  seems  to  be  ingulfed  in  iniquity  and  steeped  in 
corruption.  Disclosures  of  fraud  in  high  places  are  pushing  one 
another  toward  the  light.  Belknap,  Logan,  Delano,  Ingalls — and 
where  the  black  list  will  stop,  Heaven  only  knows." 

Since  the  foregoing  was  written,  who  will  say  that 
there  has  been  any  real  improvement  in  the  tone  of 
public  morals  ?  And  further  enumeration  is  here  un 
necessary.  Enough  crops  out  in  every  day's  history 
to  show  that  moral  principle,  the  only  guarantee  for 
justice  and  honesty  in  a  government  like  ours,  is  sadly 
wanting. 

And  evil  is  also  threatening  from  another  quarter. 
Creeping  up  from  the  darkness  of  the  Dark  Ages,  a 
hideous  monster  is  intently  watching  to  seize  the 
throat  of  liberty  in  our  land.  It  thrusts  itself  up  into 
the  noonday  of  the  nineteenth  century,  not  that  it 


THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

may  be  benefited  by  its  light  and  freedom,  but  that  it 
may  suppress  and  obscure  them.  The  name  of  this 
monster  is  Popery  ;  and  it  has  fixed  its  rapacious  and 
blood-thirsty  eyes  on  this  land,  determined  to  make 
it  its  helpless  prey.  It  already  decides  the  elections 
in  some  of  our  largest  cities.  It  controls  the  revenues 
of  the  most  populous  State  in  the  Union,  and  appro 
priates  annually  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
raised  from  Protestant  taxes,  to  the  support  of  its  own 
ecclesiastical  organizations,  and  to  the  furtherance  of 
its  own  religious  and  political  ends.  It  has  attained 
such  a  degree  of  influence  that  it  is  only  by  a  mighty 
effort  of  Protestant  patriotism  that  any  measures 
against  which  the  Romish  element  combines  its 
strength  can  now  be  carried.  And  corrupt  and  un 
scrupulous  politicians  stand  ready  to  concede  its  de 
mands,  in  order  to  secure  its  support  for  the  advance 
ment  of  their  own  ambitious  aims.  Look  at  the  so- 
called  "Freedom  of  Worship"  bill,  by  which  Papists 
would  compel  the  general  public  to  support  in  public 
institutions  its  own  peculiar  form  of  worship  and 
priestly  influence, — a  bill  which  has  been,  and  in  all 
probability  is  destined  more  fully  to  be,  an  occasion 
of  wrangling  in  the  New  York  Legislature.  Rome  is 
in  the  field,  with  the  basest  and  most  fatal  intentions, 
and  with  the  most  watchful  and  tireless  energy.  It 
is  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  our  future 
troubles  ;  for  it  is  symbolized  by  the  very  beast  which 
the  two-horned  beast  is  to  cause  the  earth  and  them 
that  dwell  therein  to  worship,  and  before  whose  eyes 
it  is  to  perform  its  wonders.  Rev.  14: :  12. 

And  in  our  own  better  Protestant  churches  there  is 
that  which  threatens  to  lead  to  most  serious  evils. 
On  this  point  one  of  their  own  popular  ministers,  who 


INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES.  143 

is  well  qualified  to  speak,  may  testify.     A  sermon  by 
Charles  Beecher  contains  the  following  statements  :— 

"Our  best,  most  humble,  most  devoted  servants  of  Christ,  are 
fostering  in  their  midst  what  will  one  day,  not  long  hence,  show 
itself  to  be  the  spawn  of  the  dragon.  They  shrink  from  any  rude 
word  against  creeds  with  the  same  sensitiveness  with  which  those 
holy  fathers  would  have  shrunk  from  a  rude  word  against  the  ris 
ing  veneration  of  saints  and  martyrs  which  they  were  fostering. 
.  .  .  The  Protestant  evangelical  denominations  have  so  tied  up 
one  another's  hands,  and  their  own,  that,  between  them  all,  a  man 
cannot  become  a  preacher  at  all,  anywhere,  without  accepting 
some  book  besides  the  Bible.  .  .  .  And  is  not  the  Protestant 
Church  apostate  ?  Oh  !  remember,  the  final  form  of  apostasy  shall 
rise,  not  by  crosses,  processions,  baubles.  We  understand  all  that. 
Apostasy  never  comes  on  the  outside.  It  develops.  It  is  an  apos 
tasy  that  shall  spring  into  life  within  us, — an  apostasy  that  shall 
martyr  a  man  who  believes  his  Bible  ever  so  hoMly  ;  yea,  who  may 
even  believe  what  the  creed  contains,  but  who  may  happen  to 
agree  with  the  Westminster  Assembly,  that,  proposed  as  a  test,  it 
is  an  unwarrantable  imposition.  That  is  the  apostasy  we  have  to 
fear,  and  is  it  not  already  formed  ?  .  .  .  Will  it  be  said  that  our 
fears  are  imaginary  ?  Imaginary  !  Did  not  the  Ilev.  John  M. 
Duncan,  in  the  years  1825-6,  or  thereabouts,  sincerely  believe  the 
Bible  ?  Did  he  not  even  believe  substantially  the  Confession  of 
Faith  ?  And  was  he  not,  for  daring  to  say  what  the  Westminster 
Assembly  said,  that  to  require  the  reception  of  that  creed  as  a  test 
of  ministerial  qualification  was  an  unwarrantable  imposition, 
brought  to  trial,  condemned,  excommunicated,  and  his  pulpit  de 
clared  vacant  ?  There  is  nothing  imaginary  in  the  statement  that 
the  creed-power  is  now  beginning  to  prohibit  the  Bible  as  really 
as  Rome  did,  though  in  a  subtler  way. 

"Oh,  woful  day  !  Oh,  unhappy  Church  of  Christ,  fast  rushing 
round  and  round  the  fatal  circle  of  absorbing  ruin  !  .  .  .  Daily 
does  every  one  see  that  things  are  going  wrong.  With  sighs  does 
every  true  heart  confess  that  rottenness  is  somewhere,  but,  ah  !  it 
is  hopeless  of  reform.  We  all  pass  on,  and  the  tide  rolls  down  to 
night.  The  waves  of  the  coming  conflict  which  is  to  convulse 
Christendom  to  her  center  are  beginning  to  be  felt.  The  deep 
heavings  begin  to  swell  beneath  us.  'All  the  old  signs  fail/ 
'God  answers  no  more  by  Urirn  and  Thumiruui,  nor  by  dream,  nor 


144  THE   MARVEL    OP   NATION'S. 

by  prophet/  Men's  hearts  are  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  look 
ing  after  those  things  that  are  coming  on  the  earth.  Thunders 
mutter  in  the  distance.  Winds  moan  across  the  surging  bosom  of 
the  deep.  All  things  betide  the  rising  of  tkat  fatal  storm  of  di 
vine  indignation  which  shall  sweep  away  the  vain  refuge  of  lies." 

In  addition  to  this,  we  have  spiritualism,  infidelity, 
socialism,  free-love,  the  trades  unions,  or  labor  against 
capital,  and  communism, — all  assiduously  spreading 
their  principles  among  the  masses.  These  are  the 
very  principles  that  worked  among  the  people,  as  the 
exciting  cause,  just  prior  to  the  terrible  French  Rev 
olution  of  1789-1800.  Human  nature  is  the  same  in 
all  ages,  and  like  causes  will  surely  produce  like  ef 
fects.  These  causes  are  now  all  in  active  operation  ; 
and  how  soon  they  will  culminate  in  a  state  of  an 
archy,  and  a  reign  of  terror  as  much  more  frightful  than 
the  French  Revolution  as  they  are  now  more  widely 
extended,  no  man  can  say. 

Such  are  some  of  the  elements  already  at  work  ; 
such  is  the  direction  in  which  events  are  moving. 
And  how  much  further  is  it  necessary  that  they  should 
progress  in  this  manner  before  an  open  war-cry  from 
the  masses  of  persecution  against  those  whose  simple 
adherence  to  the  Bible  shall  put  to  shame  their  man- 
made  theology,  and  whose  godly  lives  shall  condemn 
their  wicked  practices,  would  seem  in  nowise  start 
ling  or  incongruous  ? 

But  some  may  say,  through  an  all-absorbing  faith 
in  the  increasing  virtue  of  the  American  people,  that 
they  do  not  believe  that  the  United  States  will  ever 
raise  the  hand  of  persecution  against  any  class.  Very 
well.  This  is  not  a  matter  over  which  we  need  to  in 
dulge  in  any  controversy.  No  process  of  reasoning 
nor  any  amount  of  argument  can  ever  show  that  it 


INCONSISTENT    UTTERANCES.  145 

will  notbe  so.  We  think  we  have  shown  good  ground 
for  strong  probabilities  that  this  government  may  yet 
commit  itself  to  the  work  of  religious  persecution  ; 
and  we  shall  present  more  forcible  evidence,  and 
speak  of  more  significant  movements  hereafter.  As 
we  interpret  the  prophecy,  we  look  upon  it  as  inev 
itable.  But  the  decision  of  the  question  must  be  left 
to  time  ;  we  can  neither  help  nor  hinder  its  work. 
Time  will  soon  correct  all  errors,  and  solve  all  doubts, 
on  this  question. 


10 


CHAPTER   XL 


HE    DOETH    GREAT    WONDERS. 

JjjTN  further  predicting  the  work  of  the  two-horned 
II  beast,  the  prophet  says,  "And  he  exerciseth  all 
4p  the  power  of  the  first  beast  before  him,  and  caus- 
eth  the  earth  and  them  which  dwell  therein  to  wor 
ship  the  first  beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed." 
This  language  is  urged  by  some  to  prove  that  the 
two-horned  beast  must  be  some  power  which  holds 
the  reins  of  government  in  the  very  territory  occu 
pied  by  the  first,  or  preceding  beast,  which  is  the  pa 
pacy  ;  for,  otherwise,  how  could  he  exercise  his 
power  ? 

If  the  word  "before"  denoted  precedence  in  time, 
and  the  first  (or  papal)  beast  passed  ofTthe  stage  of 
action  when  the  two-horned  beast  came  on,  just  as 
Babylon  gave  place  to  Persia,  which  then  exercised 
all  the  power  of  Babylon  before  it,  there  would  be 
some  plausibility  in  the  claim.  But  the  word  ren 
dered  "before"  is  h&rrtov  (enopion),  which  means,  lit 
erally,  "  in  the  presence  of."  And  so  the  language, 
instead  of  proving  what  is  claimed,  becomes  a  most 
positive  proof  that  these  two  beasts — the  leopard  pa 
pal  beast  and  the  two-horned  beast — are  distinct  and 
contemporary  powers. 

The  first  beast  is  in  existence,  having  all  its  sym 
bolic  vitality,  at  the  very  time  the  two-horned  beast 
is  exercising  power  in  his  presence.  But  this  could 
not  be,  if  his  dominion  had  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  two-horned  beast  ;  for  a  beast,  in  prophecy,  ceases 
to  exist  when  his  dominion  is  taken  away.  What 

[146] 


HE   DOETH    GREAT    WONDERS.  147 

caused  the  change  in  the  symbols,  as  given  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  Daniel,  from  the  lion,  representing 
Babylon,  to  the  bear,  representing  Persia  ? — Simply  a 
transfer  of  dominion  from  Babylon  to  Persia.  And 
so  the  prophecy  explains  the  successive  passing  away 
of  these  beasts,  by  saying  that  their  "  lives  were  pro 
longed,"  but  their  "  dominion  was  taken  away"  (verse 
12)  ;  that  is,  the  territory  of  the  kingdom  was  not 
blotted  from  the  map,  nor  the  lives  of  the  people  de 
stroyed,  but  there  was  a  transfer  of  power  from  one 
nationality  to  another.  So  the  fact  that  the  leopard 
beast,  here  in  Rev.  13,  is  spoken  of  as  still  an  existing 
power,  when  the  two-horned  beast  works  in  his  pres 
ence,  is  proof  that  he  is,  at  that  time,  in  possession  of 
all  the  dominion  that  was  ever  necessary  to  constitute 
him  a  symbol  in  prophecy. 

What  power,  then,  does  the  two-horned  beast  ex 
ercise  ?  Not  the  power  which  belongs  to,  and  is  in 
the  hands  of,  the  leopard,  or  papal  beast,  surely  ;  but 
he  exercises,  or  essays  to  exercise,  in  his  presence, 
power  of  the  same  kind  and  to  the  same  extent.  The 
power  which  the  first  beast  exercised, — that  alone 
with  which  the  prophecy  is  concerned, — was  a  terri 
ble  power  of  oppression  against  the  people  of  God 
(verse  7)  ;  and  this  is  a  further  indication  of  the  char 
acter  which  the  two-horned  beast  is  finally  to  sustain 
in  this  respect. 

The  latter  part  of  the  verse,  "And  causeth  the  earth 
and  them  which  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first 
beast,  whose  deadly  wound  was  healed,"  is  still  further 
proof  that  the  two-horned  beast  is  no  phase  nor  feat 
ure  of  the  papacy  ;  for  the  papal  beast  is  certainly 
competent  to  enforce  his  own  worship  in  his  own 
country,  and  from  his  own  subjects.  But  it  is  the 


14:8  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATION'S. 

two-horned  beast  which  causeth  the  earth  (the  terri 
tory  out  of  which  it  arose,  and  over  which  it  rules), 
and  them  which  dwell  therein,  to  worship  the  first 
beast.  This  shows  that  this  beast  occupies  territory 
over  which  the  first  beast  has  no  jurisdiction. 

"  And  he  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that  he  maketh 
fire  come  down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the  sight 
of  men."  In  this  specification  we  have  still  further 
proof  that  our  own  government  is  the  one  represented 
by  the  two-horned  beast.  That  we  are  living  in  an 
age  of  wonders,  none  can  deny.  Time  was,  and  that 
not  twoscore  of  years  ago,  when  the  bare  mention  of 
achievements  which  now  constitute  the  warp  and 
woof  of  every-day  life,  was  considered  the  wildest 
chimera  of  a  diseased  imagination.  Now,  nothing  is 
too  wonderful  to  be  believed,  nor  too  strange  to  hap 
pen.  Go  back  only  a  little  more  than  half  a  century, 
and  the  world,  with  respect  to  those  things  which 
tend  to  domestic  convenience  and  comfort, — the 
means  of  illumination,  the  production  and  application 
of  heat,  and  the  performance  of  various  household  op 
erations  ;  with  respect  to  methods  of  rapid  locomo 
tion  from  place  to  place,  and  the  transmission  of  in 
telligence  from  point  to  point,  stood  about  where  it 
did  in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs.  Suddenly  the 
waters  of  that  long  stream  over  whose  drowsy  surface 
scarcely  a  ripple  of  improvement  had  passed  for  three 
thousand  years,  broke  into  the  white  foam  of  violent 
agitation.  The  world  awoke  from  the  slumber  and 
darkness  of  ages.  The  divine  finger  lifted  the  seal 
from  the  prophetic  books,  and  brought  that  predicted 
period  when  men  should  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowl 
edge  should  be  increased.  Then  men  bound  the  ele 
ments  to  their  chariots,  and,  reaching  up,  laid  hold 


150  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

upon  the  very  lightning,  and  made  it  their  message- 
bearer  around  the  world.  Nahum  foretold  that  at  a 
certain  time  the  chariots  should  be  with  flaming 
torches  and  run  like  the  lightnings.  Nahum  2  :  3,  4. 
Who  can  behold,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  the 
locomotive  dashing  over  its  iron  track,  the  fiery  glare 
of  its  great  lidless  eye  driving  the  shadows  from  its 
path,  and  torrents  of  smoke  and  sparks  and  flame 
pouring  from  its  burning  throat,  and  not  realize  that 
ours  are  the  eyes  that  are  privileged  to  look  upon  a 
fulfillment  of  Nahum's  prophecy?  But  when  this 
should  take  place,  the  prophet  said  that  the  times 
would  be  burdened  with  the  solemn  work  of  God's 
"  preparation." 

"  Canst  thou  send  lightnings,"  said  God  to  Job, 
"  that  they  may  go,  and  say  unto  thee,  Here  we 
are?"  Job.  38:35.  If  Job  were  living  to-day,  he 
could  answer,  Yes.  It  is  one  of  the  current  sayings 
of  our  time  that  "  Franklin  tamed  the  lightning,  and 
Prof.  Morse  taught  it  the  English  language." 

So  in  every  department  of  the  arts  and  sciences, 
the  advancement  that  has  been  made  within  the  last 
half  century  is  without  precedent  in  the  world's  his 
tory.  And  in  all  these  the  United  States  takes  the 
lead.  These  facts  are  not,  indeed,  to  be  taken  as  a 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecy,  but  they  show  the  spirit 
of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  and  point  to  this  time  as 
a  period  when  we  may  look  for  wonders  of  every 
kind. 

The  wonders  to  which  the  prophecy  (Rev.  13)  re* 
fers  are  evidently  wrought  for  the  purpose  of  deceiv 
ing  the  people  ;  for  verse  14  reads,  "And  deceiveth 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  means  of  those  mir 
acles  which  he  had  power  to  do  in  the  sight  of  the 
beast." 


HE   DOETH    OHEAT    WONDER  8. 


THE  TWO-HORNED  BEAST   THE   SAME   AS   THE   FALSE 
PROPHET    OF    CHAPTER    19. 

The  work  attributed  in  verse  11,  just  quoted,  to  the 
two-horned  beast,  identifies  this  power  with  the  false 
prophet  of  Rev.  19  :  20  ;  for  this  false  prophet  is  the 
agency  that  works  miracles  before  the  beast,  "  with 
which,"  says  John,  "he  deceived  them  that  had  re 
ceived  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  them  that  worshiped 
Jiis  image"  —  the  very  actions  which  the  two-horned 
beast  is  to  cause  men  to  perform.  We  can  now  as 
certain  by  what  means  the  miracles  in  question  are 
wrought  ;  for  Rev.  16  :  13,  14-,  speaks  of  spirits  of 
devils  working  miracles,  which  go  forth  unto  the 
kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty  ; 
and  these  miracle-working  spirits  go  forth  out  of  the 
mouths  of  certain  powers,  one  of  which  is  this  very 
false  prophet,  or  two-horned  beast. 

Miracles  are  of  two  kinds  —  true  and  false,  just  as 
we  have  a  true  Christ  and  false  christs,  true  prophets 
and  false  prophets,  and  true  apostles  and  false  apos 
tles.  By  a  false  miracle  we  mean,  not  a  pretended 
miracle,  which  is  no  miracle  at  all,  but  a  real  mir 
acle,  a  supernatural  performance,  wrought  in  the  in 
terest  of  falsehood,  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the 
people,  or  of  proving  a  lie.  The  miracles  of  this 
power  are  real  miracles,  but  are  wrought  for  the  pur 
pose  of  deception.  The  prophecy  does  not  read  that 
he  deceived  the  people  by  means  of  the  miracles 
which  he  claimed  that  he  was  able  to  perform,  or 
which  he  pretended  to  do,  but  which  he  had  power 
to  do. 

They,  therefore,  fall  far  short  of  the  real  intent  of 


152  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

the  prophecy,  who  suppose  that  the  great  wonders 
wrought  by  this  power  were  fulfilled  by  Napoleon 
when  he  told  the  Mussulmans  that  he  could  command 
a  fiery  chariot  to  come  down  from  heaven,  but  never 
did  it  ;  or  by  the  pretended  miracles  of  the  Romish 
Church,  which  are  only  shams,  mere  tricks  played  off 
by  unscrupulous  and  designing  priests  upon  their  ig 
norant  and  superstitious  dupes. 

Miracles,  or  wonders,  such  as  are  to  be  wrought  by 
the  two-horned  beast,  and,  withal,  as  we  think,  the 
very  ones  referred  to  in  the  prophecy,  are  mentioned 
by  Paul  in  2  Thess.  2  :  9,  10.  Speaking  of  the  second 
coming  of  Christ,  he  says,  "  Whose  coming  is  after 
[KOTO,  at  the  time  of,  2  Tim.  4  :  1]*  the  working  of  Sa- 


*  The  one  whose  coming  is  referred  to  in  2  Thess,  2  :  9,  is  shown  by 
the  connection  to  be  the  same  as  the  one  whose  coming  is  spoken  of  in 
verse  8;  and  that  is  Christ.  In  the  original  the  connection  is  very  direct; 
thus,  K.araQ'yrjaEi  rrj  k'KL^avKia  rf/£  waoovaia^  avTov,  ov  kartv  ?}  Trapovaia  /car' 
ivKoyuav  TOV  Zaravd,  etc.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  question  but  that 
the  relative  ov  must  refer  to  the  preceding  avrov  as  its  antecedent ;  for  the 
sentence  literally  reads,  "And  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his 
coming,  of  whom  the  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,"  etc.  In  this 
case  we  cannot  give  to  Kara  the  definition  of  "  through,"  "  by  means  of" 
or  "  according  to,"  as  it  frequently  means ;  for  the  coming  of  Christ  is  not 
"by  means  of,"  or  "  according  to,"  the  working  of  Satan.  But  Kara  has 
another  definition  when  used  with  an  accusative,  and  when  referring  to 
time.  It  then  means,  "within  the  range  of,  during,  in  the  course  of,  at, 
about."  (Bagster's  Analytical  Greek  Lexicon.)  It  is  here  used  with  the 
accusative, — evepyeiav, — and  although  the  word  is  not  directly  a  noun  of 
time,  it  is  a  word  which  necessarily  involves  the  idea  of  duration ;  for  the 
working  of  Satan  must  occupy  time.  We  submit,  therefore,  that  it  may 
here  receive  one  of  the  definitions  last  mentioned,  and  be  rendered  "  at 
the  time  of."  The  whole  passage  would  then  read:  "  Whom  the  Lord 
shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the 
brightness  of  his  coming;  whose  coining  is  at  the  time  of  the  working  of 
Satan  with  all  power,"  etc.  Thus  rendered,  the  passage  becomes  parallel 
to  that  of  2  Tim.  4:1,  where  nara  is  properly  rendered  "at,"  meaning 
" at  the  time  of ;"  thus,  "I  charge  thee  therefore  before  God,  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appear 
ing  [/cara  rrjv  £7rt(j)6.veiai>  avrov]  and  his  kingdom." 


HE   DOETII    GREAT    WONDERS.  153 

tan  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying-  wonders,  and 
with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness  in  them 
that  perish,  because  they  received  not  the  love  of  the 
truth,  that  they  might  be  saved."  These  are  no 
sleight-of-hand  performances,  but  such  a  working  of 
Satan  as  the  world  has  never  before  seen.  To  work 
with  all  power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  is  cer 
tainly  to  do  a  real  and  an  astounding  work,  but  one 
which  is  designed  to  prove  a  lie. 

Again,  the  Saviour,  predicting  events  to  occur  just 
before  his  second  coming,  says,  "  For  there  shall  arise 
false  christs  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great 
signs  and  wonders  ;  insomuch  that  if  it  were  possible, 
they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect."  Here,  again,  are 
wonders  foretold,  wrought  for  the  purpose  of  decep 
tion,  so  powerful  that  were  it  possible  even  the  very 
elect  would  be  deceived  by  them. 

Thus  we  have  a  series  of  prophecies  setting  forth 
the  development,  in  the  last  days,  of  a  wonder-work 
ing  power,  manifested  to  a  startling  and  unprece 
dented  degree,  in  the  interest  of  falsehood  and  error. 
All  refer  to  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  earthly 
government  with  which  it  was  to  be  especially  con 
nected,  is  that  represented  by  the  two-horned  beast, 
or  false  prophet.  The  agency  lying  back  of  the  out 
ward  manifestations  was  to  be  Satanic,  "  the  spirit  of 
devils."  The  prophecy,  according  to  the  application 
made  of  it  in  this  book,  calls  for  such  a  work  as  this 
in  our  own  country  at  the  present  time.  Do  we  be 
hold  anything  like  it  ?  Read  the  answer  in  the  lam 
entation  of  the  prophet :  "  Woe  to  the  inhabiters  of 
the  earth  and  of  the  sea  !  for  the  Devil  is  come  down 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  time."  Rev.  12  :  12.  Stand 


154  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

aghast,  O  Earth  !  tremble,  ye  people,  but  be  not  de 
ceived  !  The  huge  specter  of  evil  confronts  us,  as  the 
prophet  de-dared.  Satan  is  loosed.  From  the  depth 
of  Tartarus  myriads  of  demons  swarm  over  the  land. 
The  prince  of  darkness  manifests  himself  as  never  be 
fore,  and,  stealing  a  word  from  the  vocabulary  of 
heaven  to  designate  his  work,  he  calls  it — Spiritual 
ism. 

1.  Does  Spiritualism,  then,  bear  these  marks  of  Sa 
tanic  agency  ? 

(1.)  The  spirits  which  communicate  claim  to  be  the 
spirits  of  our  departed  friends.  But  the  Bible,  in  the 
most  explicit  terms,  assures  us  that  the  dead  are 
wholly  inactive  and  unconscious  till  the  resurrection  ; 
that  the  dead  know  not  anything  (Eccl.  9:5);  that 
every  operation  of  the  mind  has  ceased  (Ps.  146  :  4)  ; 
that  every  emotion  of  the  heart  is  suspended  (Eccl. 
9:6);  and  that  there  is  neither  work,  nor  device,  nor 
knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave  where  they  lie. 
Eccl.  9  : 10.  Whatever  intelligence,  therefore,  comes 
to  us  professing  to  be  one  of  our  dead  friends,  comes 
claiming  to  be  what,  from  the  word  of  God,  wre  know 
he  is  not.  But  angels  of  God  do  not  lie  ;  therefore 
these  are  not  the  good  angels.  Spirits  of  devils  will 
lie  ;  this  is  their  work  ;  and  these  are  the  credentials 
which  at  the  very  outset  they  hand  us. 

(2.)  The  doctrines  which  they  teach  are  from  the 
lowest  and  foulest  depths  of  the  pit  of  lies.  They 
deny  God.  They  deny  Christ.  They  deny  the  atone 
ment.  They  deny  the  Bible.  They  deny  the  exist 
ence  of  sin,  and  all  distinction  between  right  and 
wrong.  They  deny  the  sacredncss  of  the  marriage 
relation  ;  and,  interspersing  their  utterances  with 
the  most  horrid  blasphemies  against  God  and  his  Son, 


HE  DOETH  ORE  AT  WONDERS.      155 

and  everything  that  is  lovely,  and  good,  and  pure, 
they  give  the  freest  license  to  every  propensity  to 
sin,  and  to  every  carnal  and  fleshly  lust.  Tell  us  not 
that  these  things,  openly  taught  under  the  garb  of 
religion,  and  backed  up  by  supernatural  sights  and 
sounds,  are  anything  less  than  Satan's  masterpiece. 

2.  Spiritualism  answers  accurately  to  the  prophecy 
in  the  exhibition  of  great  signs  and  wonders.  Among 
its  many  achievements  these  may  be  mentioned  : 
Various  articles  have  been  transported  from  place  to 
place  by  spirits  alone.  Beautiful  music  has  been  pro 
duced  independently  of  human  agency,  with  and  with 
out  the  aid  of  visible  instruments.  Many  well-at 
tested  cases  of  healing  have  been  presented.  Persons 
have  been  carried  through  the  air  by  the  spirits  in  the 
presence  of  many  others.  Tables  have  been  sus 
pended  in  the  air  with  several  persons  upon  them. 
And  finally,  spirits  have  presented  themselves  in  bod 
ily  form,  and  talked  with  an  audible  voice. 

Experiments  conducted  by  the  great  German  phi 
losopher,  Prof.  Zollner,  demonstrated  the  following 
facts,  as  related  by  him  to  Joseph  Cook  during  the 
late  visit  of  the  latter  to  Europe  ;  namely,  abnormal 
knots  were  tied  in  cords  ;  messages  were  written  be 
tween  doubly  and  trebly  sealed  slates  ;  coin  passed 
through  a  table  in  a  manner  to  illustrate  the  suspen 
sion  of  the  laws  of  the  impenetrability  of  matter  ; 
straps  of  leather  were  knotted  under  Prof.  Zollner's 
hands  ;  the  impression  of  two  feet  was  given  on  sooted 
paper  pasted  inside  two  sealed  slates  ;  whole  and  un 
injured  wooden  rings  were  placed  around  the  stand 
ard  of  a  card-table,  over  either  end  of  which  they 
could  by  no  possibility  be  slipped  ;  and  finally,  the 
table  itself,  a  heavy  beechen  structure,  wholly  disap- 


156  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

pcared,  and  then  fell  down  from  the  top  of  the  room 
in  which  Prof.  Zollner  and  his  friends  were  sitting. 

A  writer  in  the  Spiritual  Clarion  speaks  as  follows 
of  the  manner  in  which  Spiritualism  has  arisen,  and 
the  astounding  progress  it  has  made  : — 

"This  revelation  has  been  with  a  power  and  a  might,  that,  if  di 
vested  of  its  almost  universal  benevolence,  had  been  a  terror  to  the 
very  soul ;  the  hair  of  the  very  bravest  had  stood  on  end,  and  his 
chilled  blood  had  crept  back  upon  his  heart  at  the  sights  and  sounds 
of  its  inexplicable  phenomena.  It  comes  with  foretokening,  with 
warning.  It  has  been,  from  the  very  first,  its  own  best  prophet, 
and  step  by  step  it  has  foretold  the  progress  it  would  make.  It 
comes,  too,  most  triumphant.  No  faith  before  it  ever  took  so  vic 
torious  a  stand  in  its  infancy.  It  has  swept  like  a  hurricane  of 
fire  through  the  land,  compelling  faith  from  the  baffled  scoffer  and 
the  most  determined  doubter." 

3.  Spiritualism  answers  to  the  prophecy  in  that  it 
had  its  origin  in  our  own  country,  thus  connecting  its 
wonders  with  the  work  of  the  two-horned  beast. 
Commencing  in  Hydesville,*  N.  Y.,  in  the  family  of 
Mr.  John  D.  Fox,  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  1848,  it 
spread  with  incredible  rapidity  through  all  the  States. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  state  the  number  of  Spirit 
ualists  in  this  country  at  the  present  time.  In  1876, 
only  twenty-eight  years  from  the  commencement  of 
this  remarkable  movement,  estimates  of  the  number 
of  its  adherents  were  made  by  different  ones,  which, 
though  differing  somewhat  from  one  another,  are  nev 
ertheless  such  as  to  show  that  the  progress  of  Spirit 
ualism  has  been  without  a  parallel.  Thus,  Judge  Ed 
monds  puts  the  number  at  five  or  six  millions  (5,000,- 
000  or  6,000,000)  ;  Hepworth  Dixon,  three  millions 
(3,000,000)  ;  A.  J.  Davis,  four  million  two  hundred  and 


*  This  place  is  near  Rochester,  N.  Y ;  hence  the  phenomenon  was  known  at 
first  as  the  "Rochester  Knockings." 


HE  DOETH  GEE  AT  WONDERS.       157 

thirty  thousand  (4,230,000)  ;  Warren  Chase,  eight 
millions  (8,000,000)  ;  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Coun 
cil  at  Baltimore,  between  ten  and  eleven  millions  (10,- 
000,000  to  11,000,000).  Of  those  who  have  become 
its  devotees,  Judge  Edmonds  said  as  long  ago  as 
1853  :— 

'Besides  the  undistinguished  multitude,  there  are  many  now  of 
high  standing  and  talent  ranked  among  them, — doctors,  lawyers, 
and  clergymen  in  great  numbers,  a  Protestant  bishop,  the  learned 
and  reverend  president  of  a  college,  judges  of  our  higher  courts, 
members  of  Congress,  foreign  ambassadors,  and  ex-members  cf  the 
United  States  Senate." 

This  statement  was  written  about  thirty-two  years 
ago  ;  and  from  that  time  to  this  the  work  of  the  spirits 
has  been  steadily  progressing  and  spreading  among 
all  classes  of  people. 

One  reason  why  it  is  now  difficult  to  estimate  the 
number  of  those  who  might  properly  be  denominated 
Spiritualists,  is  that  the  more  prominent  and  respect 
able  of  the  adherents  of  this  movement,  are  drawing 
under  cover  the  obnoxious  and  immoral  features  of 
the  system,  heretofore  so  prominent,  and  assuming  a 
Christian  garb.  By  this  move  they  bring  themselves 
and  a  multitude  of  church  members  upon  common 
ground,  where  there  is  no  distinction  between  them 
in  fact,  though  there  still  may  be  in  name. 

And  from  this  nation  Spiritualism  has  gone  abroad 
into  all  the  earth.  Queen  Victoria  is  said  to  be  a 
devotee  of  the  new  philosophy.  See  Townsend's 
44  New  World  and  Old,"  p.  201.  The  late  rulers,  the 
Emperor  and  Empress  of  France,  the  Queen  of  Spain, 
Pius  IX.,  and  Alexander  II.,  are  all  said  to  have  sought 
to  these  spirits  for  knowledge.  The  same  is  said  of 
the  present  Emperor  of  Russia,  Alexander  III.,  who 


158  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

is  reported  to  have  followed  the  direction  of  the  spirits 
in  regard  to  the  time  and  manner  of  his  coronation. 
Thus  it  is  working  its  way  to  the  potentates  of  the 
earth,  and  is  fast  preparing  to  accomplish  its  real  mis 
sion,  which  is,  by  deceiving  the  world  with  its  mira 
cles,  to  gather  the  nations  to  the  battle  of  the  great 
day  of  God  Almighty.  Rev.  16  :  13,  14. 

Here  we  pause.  Let  this  work  go  on  a  little  longer, 
as  it  has  been  going,  and  as  it  is  still  going,  and  what 
a  scene  is  before  us  !  Having  seen  so  much  fulfilled, 
we  cannot  now  draw  back  and  deny  the  remainder. 
And  so  we  look  for  the  onward  march  of  this  last 
great  wonder-working  deception,  till  that  is  accom 
plished  which  in  the  days  of  Elijah  was  a  test  between 
Jehovah  and  Baal,  and  fire  is  brought  down  from 
heaven  to  earth  in  the  sight  of  men.  Rev.  13  :  13. 
Then  will  be  the  hour  of  the  powers  of  darkness, — the 
hour  of  temptation  that  is  coming  upon  all  the  world 
to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth.  Rev.  3  :  10. 
Then  all  will  be  swept  from  their  anchorage  by  the 
strong  current  of  delusion,  except  those  whom  it  is 
not  possible  to  deceive — the  elect  of  God.  Matt.  24 : 
24. 

And  still  the  world  sleeps  on,  while  Satan,  with 
lightning  fingers  and  hellish  energy,  weaves  over 
them  his  last  fatal  snare.  It  is  time  some  mighty 
move  was  made  to  waken  the  world,  and  arouse  the 
church  to  the  dangers  we  are  in.  It  is  time  every 
honest  heart  should  learn  that  the  only  safeguard 
against  the  great  deception,  whose  incipient,  and  even 
well-advanced  workings  we  already  behold  before  our 
eyes,  is  to  make  the  truths  of  God's  holy  and  immut 
able  word  our  shield  and  buckler. 


CHAPTER   XII 


CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

'HE  imposing  miracles  wrought  before  the  people 
having  riveted  upon  them  the  chains  of  a  fatal 
deception,  leading  them  to  suppose  they  have 
witnessed  the  great  power  of  God,  and  must  therefore 
be  doing  him  service,  when  they  have  only  been  dazed 
with  a  mighty  display  of  Satanic  wonders,  and  are  led 
captive  by  the  Devil  at  his  will,  they  are  prepared  to 
do  the  further  bidding  of  the  two-horned  beast,  which 
is  to  make  an  image  to  the  beast  which  had  the  wound 
by  a  sword  and  did  live.  Rev.  13  :  14. 

Once  more  we  remind  the  reader  of  the  impregna 
ble  strength  of  the  argument  already  presented  in 
previous  chapters,  fixing  the  application  of  this  sym 
bol  to  the"  United  States.  This  is  an  established  prop 
osition,  and  needs  no  further  support.  An  exposition 
of  the  remainder  of  the  prophecy  will  therefore  con 
sist  chiefly  of  an  effort  to  determine  what  acts  are  to 
be  performed  by  this  government,  and  a  search  for 
indications,  if  any  exist,  that  they  are  about  to  be  ac 
complished.  If  we  shall  find  evidences  springing  up 
on  all  sides  that  this  government  is  now  moving  as 
rapidly  as  possible  in  the  very  direction  marked  out 
by  the  prophet,  these  indications,  though  not  neces 
sary  to  establish  the  application  of  the  symbol  to  this 
government,  will  serve  to  stifle  the  last  excuse  of 
skepticism,  and  become  to  the  believer  an  impressive 
evidence  of  our  proximity  to  the  end;  for  the  acts 
ascribed  to  this  symbol  are  but  few,  and  while  yet  in 
mid-career,  he  is  ingulfed  in  the  lake  of  fire  of  the  last 
great  day.  T159! 


160  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

We  may,  however,  notice  in  passing,  another  evi 
dence  that  the  government  symbolized  by  the  two- 
horned  beast  is  certainly  a  republic.  This  is  proved 
by  the  language  used  respecting  the  formation  of  the 
image.  It  does  not  read  that  this  power,  as  an  act  of 
imperial  or  kingly  authority,  makes  an  image  to  the 
beast  ;  but  it  says  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that 
is,  the  people  occupying  the  territory  where  it  arises, 
that  they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast.  Appeal 
is  made  to  the  people,  showing  conclusively  that  the 
power  is  in  their  hands.  But  just  as  surely  as  the 
government  symbolized  is  a  republic,  so  surely  it  is 
none  other  than  the  United  States  of  America. 

We  have  seen  that  the  wonder-working,  Satanic 
agencies,  which  are  to  perform  the  foretold  miracles, 
and  prepare  the  people  for  the  next  step  in  the  proph 
ecy, — the  formation  of  the  image, — are  already  in  the 
field,  and  have  even  now  wrought  out  a  work  of  vast 
proportions  in  our  country  ;  and  we  now  hasten  for 
ward  to  the  very  important  inquiry,  What  will  con 
stitute  the  image,  and  what  steps  are  necessary  to  its 
formation  ? 

The  people  are  to  be  called  upon  to  make  an  image 
to  the  beast,  which  expression  doubtless  involves  the 
idea  of  some  deferential  action  toward,  or  concessions 
to,  that  power  ;  and  the  image,  when  made,  is  an  im 
age,  likeness,  or  representation  of  the  beast.  Verse 
15.  The  beast  after  which  the  image  is  modeled  is 
the  one  which  had  a  wound  by  a  sword  and  did  live  ; 
that  is,  the  papacy.  From  this  point  is  seen  the  col 
lusion  of  the  two-horned  beast  vvith  the  leopard  or 
papal  beast.  He  does  great  wonders  in  the  sight  of 
that  beast  :  he  causes  men  to  worship  that  beast  ;  he 
leads  them  to  make  an  image  to  that  beast  ;  and  he 


CHURCH  AND   STATE  161 

causes  all  to  receive  a  mark,  which  is  the  mark  of  that 
beast.  These  palpable  evidences  of  co-operation  with 
the  papal  power  led  Eld.  J.  Litch,  about  1842,  to  write 
concerning  the  two-horned  beast  thus  : — 

"I  think  it  is  a  power  yet  to  be  developed,  or  made  manifest,  as 
an  accomplice  of  the  papacy  in  subjecting  the  world." 

To  understand  what  would  be  an  image  of  the  pa 
pacy,  we  must  first  gain  some  definite  idea  of  what 
constitutes  the  papacy  itself.  Papal  supremacy  dates 
from  the  time  when  the  decree  of  Justinian  constitut 
ing  the  pope  the  head  of  the  Church  and  the  corrector 
of  heretics,  was  carried  into  effect  in  A.  D.  538.  The 
papacy,  then,  was  a  Church  clothed  with  civil  power, 
• — an  ecclesiastical  body  having  authority  to  punish 
all  dissenters  with  confiscation  of  goods,  imprison 
ment,  torture,  and  death.  What  would  be  an  image 
of  the  papacy  ?  Another  ecclesiastical  establishment 
clothed  with  similar  power.  How  could  such  an  im 
age  be  formed  in  this  country  ?  It  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive  a  state  of  things — a  state  of  things  by  no 
means  impossible,  and  according  to  present  prospects 
not  even  improbable — which  would  meet  the  proph 
ecy  precisely.  Let  the  Protestant  churches  in  our 
land  be  clothed  with  power  to  define  and  punish  her 
esy,  to  enforce  their  dogmas  under  the  pains  and  pen 
alties  of  the  civil  law,  and  should  we  not  have  an  ex 
act  representation  of  the  papacy  during  the  days  of 
its  supremacy  ? 

It  may  be  objected  that  whereas  the  papal  Church 
was  comparatively  a  unit,  and  hence  could  act  in  har 
mony  in  all  its  departments  in  enforcing  its  dogmas, 
the  Protestant  Church  is  so  divided  as  to  be  unable  to 
agree  in  regard  to  what  doctrines  shall  be  made  im- 

11 


162  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS, 

perative  on  the  people.  We  answer,  There  are  cer 
tain  points  which  they  hold  in  common,  and  which 
are  sufficient  to  form  a  basis  of  co-operation.  Chief 
among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  doctrine  of  "  the 
conscious  state  of  the  dead"  and  "  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,"  which  is  both  the  foundation  and  super 
structure  of  spiritualism,  and  also  the  doctrine  that 
"the  first  day  of  the  week  is  the  Christian  Sabbath." 
It  may  be  objected,  again,  that  this  view  makes  one 
of  the  horns  of  this  two-horned  beast,  the  Protestant 
Church,  finally  constitute  the  image  of  the  papal  beast. 
If  the  reader  supposes  that  the  Protestant  Church  con 
stitutes  one  of  the  horns  of  the  two-horned  beast,  we 
reply  that  this  is  a  conception  of  his  own.  No  such 
idea  is  here  taught  ;  and  we  mention  this  objection 
only  because  it  has  been  actually  urged  as  a  legiti 
mate  consequence  of  the  positions  here  taken.  The 
question  is  also  asked,  If  the  Protestant  Church  con 
stitutes  one  horn,  may  not  the  Catholic  Church  con 
stitute  the  other  ?  Under  the  shadow  of  that  hypo 
thetical  "  if,"  perhaps  it  might.  But  neither  the  one 
nor  the  other  performs  such  an  office.  In  Chapter 
IX.  of  this  work  it  has  been  shown  that  the  two  great 
principles — Republicanism  and  Protestantism — were 
the  proper  objects  to  be  symbolized  by  these  two 
lamb-like  horns.  But  there  is  the  plainest  distinction 
between  Protestantism  as  an  embodiment  of  the  great 
principle  of  religious  liberty,,  and  the  different  relig 
ious  bodies  that  have  grown  up  under  its  fostering  in 
fluence, — just  as  plain  as  there  is  between  Republi 
canism,  or  civil  liberty,  and  the  individual  who  lives 
in  the  enjoyment  of  such  liberty.  The  supposition, 
therefore,  that  the  Protestant  Church  is  to  furnish  the 


CHURCH  AND   STATE.  163 

material  for  the  image,  involves  no  violation  of  the 
symbolic  harmony  of  this  prophecy. 

Let  us  look  a  moment  at  the  fitness  of  the  material. 
We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  noble  service  the  Prot 
estant  churches  have  rendered  to  the  world,  to  hu 
manity,  and  to  religion,  by  introducing  and  defend 
ing,  so  far  as  they  have,  the  great  principles  of  Prot 
estantism.  But  they  have  made  a  fatal  mistake  in 
stereotyping  their  doctrines  into  creeds,  and  thus  tak 
ing  the  first  step  backward  toward  the  spiritual  tyr 
anny  of  Rome.  Thus  the  good  promise  they  gave  of 
a  free  religion  and  an  unfettered  conscience  is  already 
broken  ;  for  if  the  right  of  private  judgment  is  allowed 
by  the  Protestant  Church,  why  are  men  condemned 
and  expelled  from  that  Church  for  no  other  crime  than 
honestly  attempting  to  obey  the  word  of  God,  in  some 
particulars  not  in  accordance  with  her  creed  ?  This 
is  the  beginning  of  apostasy.  Read  Chas.  Beecher's 
work,  "  The  Bible  a  Sufficient  Creed."  "  Is  not  the 
Protestant  Church,"  he  asks,  "  apostate  ?  "  Is  not  the 
apostasy  which  we  have  reason  to  fear  "  already 
formed?"  But  apostasy  in  principle  always  leads  to 
corruption  in  practice.  And  so  Paul,  in  2  Tim.  3  :  1- 
5,  sets  forth  the  condition  of  the  professed  Church  of 
Christ  in  the  last  days.  A  rank  growth  of  twenty 
heinous  sins,  with  no  redeeming  virtues,  shows  that 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  will  be  choked  and  rooted  out 
by  the  works  of  the  flesh.  We  can  look  nowhere  else 
for  this  picture  of  Paul's  to  be  fulfilled,  except  to  the 
Protestant  Church  ;  for  the  class  of  which  he  speaks 
maintain  a  "form  of  godliness,"  or  the  outward  serv 
ices  of  a  true  Christian  worship.  And  is  not  the 
Church  of  our  day  beginning  to  manifest  to  an  alarm 
ing  degree  the  very  characteristics  which  the  apostle 


TEE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

has  specified  ?  Fifteen  clergymen  of  the  city  of  Roch 
ester,  N.  Y.,  on  Sunday,  Feb.  5,  1871,  distributed  a 
circular  entitled  "  A  Testimony,"  to  fifteen  congrega 
tions  of  that  city.  To  this  circular  the  Rochester 
Democrat  of  Feb.  1  made  reference  as  follows  : — 

"The  'Testimony'  sets  out  by  stating  that  the  foregoing  pastors 
are  constrained  to  bear  witness  to  what  they  '  conceive  to  be  a  fact 
of  our  time  ;  viz.,  that  the  prevailing  standard  of  piety  among  the 
professed  people  of  God  is  alarmingly  low  ;  that  a  tide  of  worldli- 
ness  is  setting  in  upon  us,  indicating  the  rapid  approach  of  an  era 
such  as  is  foretold  by  Paul  in  his  second  letter  to  Timothy,  in  the 
words,  "In  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall  come."'  These  con 
clusions  are  reached,  not  by  comparison  with  former  times,  but  by 
applying  the  tests  found  in  the  Scriptures.  They  instance,  as 
proof,  'the  spirit  of  lawlessness  which  prevails.'  The  circular 
then  explains  how  this  lawlessness  (religious)  is  shown.  Men  have 
the  name  of  religion,  but  they  obey  none  of  its  injunctions.  There 
is  also  a  growing  disposition  to  practice,  in  religious  circles,  what 
is  agreeable  to  the  natural  inclinations,  rather  than  the  duties  pre 
scribed  by  the  word  of  God.  The  tendency  to  adopt  worldly 
amusements,  by  professed  Christians,  is  further  stated  in  evidence." 

This  testimony  is  very  explicit.  When  men  "have 
the  name  of  religion,  but  obey  none  of  its  injunctions," 
they  certainly  may  be  said  to  have  "  a  form  of  godli 
ness,"  but  to  "deny  the  power;"  and  when  they 
"  practice  in  religious  circles  what  is  agreeable  to  the 
natural  inclinations,  rather  than  the  duties  prescribed 
by  the  word  of  God,"  they  may  truthfully  be  said  to 
be  "  lovers  of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of  God." 
And  Rochester  is  not  an  exception  in  this  respect. 
It  is  so  all  over  the  land,  as  the  candid  everywhere, 
by  a  sad  array  of  facts,  are  compelled  to  admit. 

That  the  majority  of  the  Christians  in  our  land  are 
still  to  be  found  in  connection  with  these  churches,  is 
undoubtedly  true.  But  a  change  in  this  respect  is 
also  approaching  ;  for  Paul,  in  his  words  to  Timothy, 


CHURCH  AND   STATE.  165 

above  referred  to,  exhorts  all  true  Christians  to  "turn 
away"  from  those  who  have  a  form  of  godliness,  but 
deny  the  power  thereof ;  and  those  who  desire  to  live 
pure  and  holy  lives,  who  mourn  over  the  desolations 
of  their  Zion,  and  sigh  for  the  abominations  done  in 
the  land,  will  certainly  heed  this  injunction  of  the 
apostle.  There  is  another  prophecy  which  also  shows 
that  when  the  spirit  of  worldliness  and  apostasy  has 
so  far  taken  possession  of  the  professed  churches  of 
Christ  as  to  place  them  beyond  the  reach  of  reform, 
God's  true  children  are  every  one  to  be  called  out,  that 
they  become  not  partakers  of  their  sins,  and  so  re 
ceive  not  of  their  plagues.  Rev.  18  :  4. 

From  the  course  which  church  members  are  every 
where  pursuing,  it  is  plain  to  be  seen  in  what  direc 
tion  the  Protestant  churches  are  drifting  ;  and  from 
the  declarations  of  God's  word  it  is  evident  that  all 
whose  hearts  are  touched  by  God's  grace,  and  molded 
by  his  love,  will  soon  come  out  from  a  connection  in 
which,  while  they  can  do  no  good  to  others,  they  will 
receive  only  evil  to  themselves. 

And  now  we  ask  the  reader  to  consider  seriously 
for  a  moment  what  the  state  of  the  religious  world 
will  be  when  this  change  shall  have  taken  place. 
We  shall  then  have  an  array  of  proud  and  popular 
churches,  from  whose  communion  all  the  good  have 
departed,  from  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  is  withdrawn, 
and  who  are  in  a  state  of  hopeless  departure  from 
God.  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  nor  of  churches  ; 
and  if  the  Protestant  churches  apostatize  from  him, 
will  they  not  be  just  as  efficient  agents  in  the  hand 
of  the  enemy  as  ever  pagans  or  papists  have  been  ? 
Will  they  not  then  be  ready  for  any  desperate  meas 
ure  of  bigotry  and  oppression  in  which  he  may  wish 


166  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

to  enlist  them  ?  After  the  Jewish  Church  had  finally 
rejected  Christ,  how  soon  they  were  ready  to  imbrue 
their  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  crucifixion  !  And  is  it 
not  the  testimony  of  all  history  that  just  in  propor 
tion  as  any  popular  and  extensive  ecclesiastical  or 
ganization  loses  the  Spirit  and  power  of  God,  it  clam 
ors  for  the  support  of  the  civil  arm  ? 

Let,  now,  an  ecclesiastical  organization  be  formed 
by  these  churches  ;  let  the  government  legalize  such 
organization,  and  give  it  power  (a  power  which  it  will 
not  have  till  the  government  does  grant  it)  to  enforce 
upon  the  people  the  dogmas  which  the  different  de 
nominations  can  all  adopt  as  the  basis  of  union,  and 
what  do  we  have  ?  Just  what  the  prophecy  repre 
sents, — an  image  to  the  papal  beast,  endowed  with 
life  by  the  two-horned  beast,  to  speak  and  act  with 
power. 

And  are  there  any  indications  of  such  a  movement  ? 
The  preliminary  question,,  that  of  the  grand  union  of 
all  the  churches,  is  now  profoundly  agitating  the  re 
ligious  world. 

In  May,  1869,  S.  M,  Manning,  D.  D.,  in  a  sermon  in 
Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York,  spoke  of  the  recent 
efforts  to  unite  all  the  churches  in  the  land  into  co 
operation  on  the  common  points  of  their  faith,  as  a 
"prominent  and  noteworthy  sign  of  the  times" 

Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  is  quoted  as  saying  : — 

"There  is  a  state  of  society  to  be  formed  by  an  extended  com 
bination  of  institutions,  religions,  civil,  and  literary,  which  never 
exists  without  the  co-operation  of  an  educated  ministry." 

Chas.  Beecher,  in  his  sermon  at  the  dedication  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind., 
Feb.  22,  1846,  said  :- 

"Thus  are  the  ministry  of  the  evangelical  Protestant  denomina- 


CHURCH  AND  STATE.  16T 

tions  not  only  formed  all  the  way  up  under  a  tremendous  pressure 
of  merely  human  fear,  but  they  live,  and  move,  and  breathe  in  a 
state  of  things  radically  corrupt,  and  appealing  every  hour  to  ev 
ery  baser  element  of  their  nature  to  hush  up  the  truth,  and  bow 
the  knee  to  the  power  of  apostasy.  Was  not  this  the  way  things 
went  with  Rome  ?  Are  we  not  living  her  life  over  again  ?  And 
what  do  we  see  just  ahead  ? — Another  general  council !  a  world's 
convention  !  Evangelical  Alliance  and  Universal  Creed  ! " 

The  Banner  of  Light  of  July  30,  1864,  said  :— 

"A  system  will  be  unfolded  sooner  or  later  that  will  embrace  in 
its  folds  Church  and  State  ;  for  the  object  of  the  two  should  be  one 
and  the  same.  The  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  the  world 
will  be  startled  by  a  voice  that  shall  say  to  every  form  of  oppres 
sion  and  wrong,  'Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther.'  Old 
things  are  rapidly  passing  away  in  the  religious  and  social,  as  well 
as  in  the  political  world.  Behold,  all  things  must  be  formed  anew." 

The  Church  Advocate,  in  March,  1870,  speaking  of 
the  formation  of  an  "  Independent  American  Catholic 
Church,"  a  movement  now  agitated  in  this  country, 
said  : — 

"There  is  evidently  some  secret  power  at  work  which  may  be 
preparing  the  world  for  great  events  in  the  near  future." 

A  Mr.  Havens,  in  a  speech  delivered  in  New  York 
a  few  years  ago,  said  : — 

"For  my  own  part,  I  wait  to  see  the  day  when  a  Luther  shali 
spring  up  in  this  country,  who  shall  found  a  great  American  Cath 
olic  Church,  instead  of  a  great  Roman  Catholic  Church  ;  and  who 
shall  teach  men  that  they  can  be  good  Catholics  without  profess 
ing  allegiance  to  a  pontiff  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic." 

There  are  indications,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  subse 
quent  chapter,  that  at  no  distant  day  such  a  Church 
will  be  seen,  not,  indeed,  raised  up  through  the  in 
strumentality  of  a  Luther,  but  rather  through  the  op 
eration  of  the  same  spirit  that  inspired  a  Fernando 
Nunez  or  a  Torquemada. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION. 

principal  acts  ascribed  to  the  two-horned 
beast,  which  seem  to  be  performed  with  special 
reference  to  the  papal  beast,  are,  causing  men 
to  "worship"  that  beast,  causing  them  to  "make  an 
image"  to  that  beast,  and  enforcing  upon  them  "the 
mark"  of  the  beast.  The  image,  after  it  is  created 
and  endowed  with  life,  undertakes  to  enforce  the  wor 
ship  of  itself.  To  avoid  confusion,  we  must  keep  these 
parties  distinct  in  our  minds.  There  are  three  here 
brought  before  us  :— 

1.  The  Papal  Beast.     This  power  is  designated  as 
"the  beast,"  "the  first  beast,"  "  the  beast  which  had 
the  wound  by  a  sword,  and  did  live,"  and  the  "beast 
whose  deadly  wound  was  healed."     These  expressions 
all  refer  to  the  same  power  ;  and  wherever  they  occur 
in  this  prophecy,  they  have  exclusive  reference  to  the 
papacy. 

2.  The   Two-Horned  Beast.     This  power,  after  its 
introduction    in  verse  11  of  Rev.  13,  is  represented 
through  the  remainder  of  the  prophecy  by  the  pro 
noun  "he  ;"  and  wherever  this  pronoun  occurs,  down 
to  the  17th  verse  (with  possibly  the  exception  of  the 
16th  verse,  which  perhaps  may  refer  to  the  image),  it 
refers  invariably  to  the  two-horned  beast. 

3.  The  Image  of  the  Beast.     This  is,  every  time, 
with  the  exception  just  stated,  called  the  image  ;  so 
that  there  is  no  danger  of  confounding  this  with  any 
other  agent. 

[168] 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  169 

The  acts  ascribed  to  the  image  are,  speaking,  and 
enforcing  the  worship  of  itself  under  the  penalty  of 
death  ;  and  this  is  the  only  enactment  which  the 
prophecy  mentions  as  enforced  under  the  death  pen 
alty.  Just  what  will  constitute  this  worship,  it  will 
perhaps  be  impossible  to  determine  till  the  image  it 
self  shall  have  an  existence.  It  will  evidently  be  some 
act  or  acts  by  which  men  will  be  required  to  acknowl 
edge  the  authority  of  that  image,  and  yield  obedience 
to  its  mandates. 

The  "mark  of  the  beast"  is  enforced  by  the  two- 
horned  beast,  either  directly  or  through  the  image. 
The  penalty  attached  to  a  refusal  to  receive  this  mark 
is  a  forfeiture  of  all  social  privileges,  a  deprivation  of 
the  right  to  buy  and  sell.  Verse  17.  The  mark  is 
the  mark  of  the  papal  beast.  Against  this  worship 
of  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  the  reception  of  his 
mark,  the  third  angel's  message  of  Rev.  14 : 9-12,  is  a 
most  solemn  and  thrilling  warning. 

Here,  then,  is  the  issue  before  us.  Human  organ 
izations,  controlled  and  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  the 
dragon,  are  to  command  njen  to  do  those  acts  which 
are,  in  reality,  the  worshiping  of  an  apostate  religious 
power,  and  the  receiving  of  his  mark,  or  lose  the  rights 
of  citizenship,  and  become  outlaws  in  the  land, — to  do 
that  which  constitutes  the  worship  of  the  image  of  the 
beast,  or  forfeit  their  lives.  On  the  other  hand,  God 
says,  by  a  message  mercifully  sent  out  a  little  before 
the  fearful  crisis  is  upon  us,  Do  any  of  these  things, 
and  you  "  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of 
his  indignation."  Rev.  14  :  9-11.  He  who  refuses  to 
comply  with  these  demands  of  earthly  powers  exposes 
himself  to  the  severest  penalties  which  human  beings 


1TO  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

can  inflict ;  and  he  who  does  comply,  exposes  himself 
to  the  most  terrible  threatening  of  divine  wrath  to  be 
found  in  the  word  of  God.  The  question  whether  we 
will  obey  God  or  man  is  to  be  decided  by  the  people 
of  the  present  age,  under  the  heaviest  pressure,  from 
either  side,  that  has  ever  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
any  generation. 

The  worship  of  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  the 
reception  of  his  mark,  must  be  something  that  in 
volves  the  greatest  offense  that  can  be  committed 
against  God,  to  call  down  so  severe  a  denunciation  of 
wrath  against  it.  This  is  a  work,  as  was  shown  in 
Chapter  VII.,  which  takes  place  in  the  last  days  ; 
and  as  God  has  given  us  in  his  word  most  abundant 
evidence  to  show  when  we  are  in  the  last  days,  that 
no  one  need  be  overtaken  by  the  day  of  the  Lord  as 
by  a  thief,  so,  likewise,  it  must  be  that  he  has  given 
us  the  means  whereby  we  may  determine  what  this 
great  latter-day  sin  is  which  he  has  so  strongly  con 
demned,  that  we  may  not  incur  the  fearful  penalty  so 
sure  to  follow  its  commission.  God  does  not  so  trifle 
with  human  hopes  and  human  destinies  as  to  denounce 
a  most  fearful  doom  against  a  certain  sin,  and  then 
place  it  beyond  our  power  to  understand  what  that 
sin  is,  so  that  we  have  no  means  of  guarding  against  it. 

That  we  are  now  living  in  the  last  days,  the  vol 
umes  of  both  revelation  and  nature  bear  ample  and 
harmonious  testimony.  Evidence  on  this  point  we 
need  not  here  stop  to  introduce  ;  for  the  testimony 
already  presented  in  the  foregoing  chapters  of  this 
work,  showing  that  the  two-horned  beast  is  now  on 
the  stage  of  action,  is  in  itself  conclusive  proof  of  this 
great  fact,  inasmuch  as  this  power  exists  and  performs 
its  work  in  the  very  closing  period  of  human  history. 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  171 

All  these  things  tell  us  that  the  time  has  now  come 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  third  message  of  Rev.  14 
to  be  given,  and  for  men  to  understand  the  terms  it 
uses,  and  the  warning  it  gives. 

We  therefore  now  call  attention  to  the  very  impor 
tant  inquiry,  What  constitutes  the  mark  of  the  beast? 
The  figure  of  a  mark  is  borrowed  from  an  ancient  cus 
tom.  Says  Bishop  Newton  (Dissertations  on  the 
Prophecies,  London,  one  volume  edition,  p.  546)  :— 

"  It  was  customary  among  the  ancients  for  servants  to  receive 
the  mark  of  their  master,  and  soldiers  of  their  general,  and  those 
who  were  devoted  to  any  particular  deity,  of  the  particular  deity 
to  whom  they  were  devoted.  These  marks  were  usually  impressed 
on  their  right  hand  or  on  their  foreheads,  and  consisted  of  some  hie 
roglyphic  character,  or  of  the  name  expressed  in  vulgar  letters,  or 
of  the  name  disguised  in  numerical  letters,  according  to  the  fancy 
of  the  imposer." 

Prideaux  says  that  Ptolemy  Philopater  ordered  all 
the  Jews  who  applied  to  be  enrolled  as  citizens  of  Al 
exandria  to  have  the  form  of  an  ivy  leaf  (the  badge 
of  his  god,  Bacchus)  impressed  upon  them  with  a  hot 
iron,  under  pain  of  death.  (Connection,  vol.  ii.,  p.  Y8.) 

The  word  used  for  mark  in  this  prophecy  is  ^dpay^c 
(charagma),  and  is  defined  to  mean,  "a  graving, 
sculpture  ;  a  mark  cut  in  or  stamped."  It  occurs  nine 
times  in  the  New  Testament,  and  with  the  single  ex 
ception  of  Acts  1Y :  29,  refers  every  time  to  the  mark 
of  the  beast.  We  are  not,  of  course,  to  understand 
in  this  symbolic  prophecy  that  a  literal  mark  is  in 
tended  ;  but  the  giving  of  the  literal  mark,  as  prac 
ticed  in  ancient  times,  is  used  as  a  figure  to  illustrate 
certain  acts  that  will  be  performed  in  the  fulfillment 
of  this  prophecy.  And  from  the  literal  mark  as  for 
merly  employed,  we  learn  something  of  its  meaning 
as  used  in  the  prophecy  ;  for  between  the  symbol  and 


MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

the  thing  symbolized  there  must  be  some  resemblance 
The  mark,  as  literally  used,  signified  that  the  person 
receiving  it  was  the  servant  of,  acknowledged  the  au* 
thority  of,  or  professed  allegiance  to,  the  person  whose 
mark  he  bore.  So  the  mark  of  the  beast,  or  of  the 
papacy,  must  be  some  act  or  profession  by  which  the 
authority  of  that  power  is  acknowledged.  What  is  it  ? 
It  would  naturally  be  looked  for  in  some  of  the 
special  characteristics  of  the  papal  power.  Daniel, 
describing  that  power  under  the  symbol  of  a  little 
horn,  speaks  of  it  as  waging  a  special  warfare  against 
God,  wearing  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and 
thinking  to  change  times  and  laws.  The  prophet  ex 
pressly  specifies  on  this  point :  "  He  shall  think  to 
change  times  and  laws."  These  laws  must  certainly 
be  the  laws  of  the  Most  High.  To  apply  it  to  human 
laws,  and  make  the  prophecy  read,  "And  he  shall 
speak  great  words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall 
wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  think  to 
change  human  laws,"  would  be  doing  evident  violence 
to  the  language  of  the  prophet.  But  apply  it  to  the 
laws  of  God,  and  let  it  read,  "And  he  shall  speak  great 
words  against  the  Most  High,  and  shall  wear  out  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  shall  think  to  change  the 
times  and  laws  of  the  Most  High!'  and  all  is  consist 
ent  and  forcible.  The  Hebrew  has  rn  (dath)  law,  and 
the  Septuagint  reads,  vd/zo?  (nomos),  in  the  singular, 
"  the  law,"  which  more  directly  suggests  the  law  of 
God.  The  papacy  has  been  able  to  do  more  than 
merely  "think"  to  change  human  laws.  It  has 
changed  them  at  pleasure.  It  has  annulled  the  de 
crees  of  kings  and  emperors,  and  absolved  subjects 
from  allegiance  to  their  rightful  sovereigns.  It  has 
thrust  its  long  arm  into  the  affairs  of  nations,  and 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  173 

brought  rulers  to  its  feet  in  the  most  abject  humility. 
But  the  prophet  beholds  greater  acts  of  presumption 
than  these.  He  sees  it  endeavor  to  do  what  it  was 
not  able  to  do,  but  could  only  think  to  do  ;  he  sees  it 
attempt  an  act  which  no  man,  nor  any  combination 
of  men,  can  ever  accomplish  ;  and  that  is,  to  change 
the  law  of  the  Most  High.  Bear  this  in  mind  while 
we  look  at  the  testimony  of  another  sacred  writer  on 
this  very  point. 

Paul  speaks  of  the  same  power  in  2  Thess.  2  ;  and 
he  describes  it,  in  the  person  of  the  pope,  as  "  the  man 
of  sin,"  and  as  sitting  as  God  in  the  temple  of  God 
(that  is,  the  Church),  and  as  exalting  himself  " above 
all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshiped."  Accord 
ing  to  this,  the  pope  sets  himself  up  as  the  one  for  all 
the  Church  to  look  to  for  authority,  in  the  place  of 
God.  And  now  we  ask  the  reader  to  ponder  carefully 
the  question  how  he  can  exalt  himself  above  God. 
Search  through  the  whole  range  of  human  devices,  go 
to  the  extent  of  human  effort ;  by  what  plan,  by  what 
move,  by  what  claim,  could  this  usurper  exalt  himself 
above  God?  He  might  institute  any  number  of  cer 
emonies,  he  might  prescribe  any  form  of  worship,  he 
might  exhibit  any  degree  of  power  ;  but  so  long  as 
God  had  requirements  which  the  people  felt  bound  to 
regard  in  preference  to  his  own,  so  long  he  would  not 
be  above  God.  He  might  enact  a  law,  and  teach  the 
people  that  they  were  under  as  great  obligations  to 
that  as  to  the  law  of  God  ;  then  he  would  only  make 
himself  equal  with  God.  But  he  is  to  do  more  than 
this  ;  he  is  to  attempt  to  raise  himself  above  him. 
Then  he  must  promulgate  a  law  which  conflicts  with 
the  law  of  God,  and  demand  obedience  to  his  own  law 
in  preference  to  that  of  God,  There  is  no  other  pos- 


174:  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

sible  way  in  which  he  could  place  himself  in  the  posi 
tion  assigned  in  the  prophecy.  But  to  do  this  is  sim 
ply  to  endeavor  to'  change  the  law  of  God  ;  and  if  he 
can  cause  this  change  to  be  adopted  by  the  people  in 
place  of  the  original  enactment,  then  he,  the  law- 
changer,  is  above  God,  the  law-maker.  And  this  is 
the  very  work  that  Daniel  said  he  should  think  to  do. 
Such  a  work  as  this,  then,  the  papacy  must  accom 
plish  according  to  the  prophecy  ;  and  the  prophecy 
cannot  fail.  And  when  this  is  done,  what  do  the  peo 
ple  of  the  world  have  ?  They  have  two  laws  demand 
ing  obedience, — one,  the  law  of  God  as  originally 
enacted  by  him,  an  embodiment  of  his  will,  and  ex 
pressing  his  claims  upon  his  creatures  ;  the  other,  a 
revised  edition  of  that  law,  emanating  from  the  pope 
of  Rome,  and  expressing  his  will.  And  how  is  it  to 
be  determined  which  of  these  powers  the  people  honor 
and  worship  ?  It  is  determined  by  the  law  which 
they  keep.  If  they  keep  the  law  of  God  as  given  by 
him,  they  worship  and  obey  God.  If  they  keep  the 
law  as  changed  by  the  papacy,  they  worship  that 
power.  But  further  :  the  prophecy  does  not  say  that 
the  little  horn  should  set  aside  the  law  of  God,  and 
give  one  entirely  different.  This  would  not  be  to 
change  the  law,  but  simply  to  give  a  new  one.  He 
was  only  to  attempt  a  change,  so  that  the  law  that 
comes  from  God,  and  the  law  that  comes  from  the 
papacy,  are  precisely  alike,  excepting  the  change 
which  the  papacy  has  made  in  the  former.  They 
have  many  points  in  common.  But  none  of  the  pre 
cepts  which  they  contain  in  common  can  distinguish 
a  person  as  the  worshiper  of  either  power  in  prefer 
ence  to  the  other.  If  God's  law  says,  "  Thou  shalt 
not  kill,"  and  the  law  as  given  by  the  papacy  says  the 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  175 

same,  no  one  can  tell  by  a  person's  observance  of  that 
precept  whether  he  designed  to  obey  God  rather  than 
the  pope,  or  the  pope  rather  than  God.  But  when  a 
precept  that  has  been  changed  is  the  subject  of  ac 
tion, — as,  for  instance,  if  God  says  that  the  seventh 
day  is  the  Sabbath  on  which  we  must  rest,  but  the 
pope  says  that  the  first  day  is  the  Sabbath,  and  that 
we  should  keep  this  day  and  not  the  seventh, — then 
whoever  observes  that  precept  as  originally  given  by 
God,  is  thereby  distinguished  as  a  worshiper  of  God  ; 
and  he  who  keeps  it  as  changed,  is  thereby  marked 
as  a  follower  of  the  power  that  made  the  change.  In 
no  other  way  can  the  two  classes  of  worshipers  be 
distinguished.  From  this  conclusion,  no  candid  mind 
can  dissent ;  but  in  this  conclusion  we  have  a  general 
answer  to  the  question,  "  What  constitutes  the  mark 
of  the  beast?"  namely,  THE  MARK  OF  THE  BEAST  IS 
THE  CHANGE  THE  BEAST  HAS  MADE  IN  THE  LAW  OF 
GOD. 

We  now  inquire  if  the  Catholic  power  has  attempted 
any  change  in  the  law  of  God,  and  if  so,  what  that 
change  is.  By  the  law  of  God  we  mean  the  moral 
law,  the  only  law  in  the  universe  of  immutable  and 
perpetual  obligation, — the  law  of  which  Webster  says, 
defining  the  terms  according  to  the  sense  in  which 
they  are  almost  universally  used  in  Christendom, 
"The  moral  law  is  summarily  contained  in  the  deca 
logue,  written  by  the  finger  of  God  on  two  tables  of 
stone,  and  delivered  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai." 

If,  now,  the  reader  will  compare  the  ten  command 
ments  as  found  in  Roman  Catholic  catechisms  with 
those  commandments  as  found  in  the  Bible,  he  will 
see  that  in  the  catechisms  the  second  commandment 
is  left  out,  the  tenth  is  divided  into  two  to  make  up 


176  TEE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

the  lack  caused  by  leaving  out  the  second,  thus  keeping 
good  the  number  ten,  and  the  fourth  commandment 
(called  the  third  in  their  enumeration)  is  made  to  en 
join  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  the  Sabbath,  and 
prescribe  that  the  day  shall  be  spent  in  "hearing  mass 
devoutly,  attending  vespers,  and  reading  moral  and 
pious  books."  Here  are  several  variations  from  the 
decalogue  as  found  in  the  Bible.  Here  are  some 
marked  changes.  How  have  they  come  about  ?  Are 
they  authorized  in  the  Scriptures  ?  or  has  the  papacy 
made  them  of  its  own  will  ?  Do  any  of  these  consti 
tute  the  change  contemplated  in  the  prophecy  ?  and 
if  so,  which?  or  are  they  all  included  in  that  change? 
Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that,  according  to  the  proph 
ecy,  he  was  to  think  to  change  times  and  laws.  This 
plainly  conveys  the  idea  of  intention  and  design,  and 
makes  these  qualities  essential  to  the  change  in  ques 
tion.  But  respecting  the  omission  of  the  second  com 
mandment,  Catholics  argue  that  it  is  included  in  the 
first,  and  hence  should  not  be  numbered  as  a  separate 
commandment.  And  on  the  tenth  they  claim  that 
there  is  so  plain  a  distinction  of  ideas  as  to  require 
two  commandments.  So  they  make  the  coveting  of 
a  neighbor's  wife  the  ninth  command,  and  the  covet 
ing  of  his  goods  the  tenth. 

In  all  this  they  claim  that  they  are  giving  the  com 
mandments  exactly  as  God  intended  to  have  them 
understood.  So,  while  we  may  regard  them  as  errors 
in  their  interpretation  of  the  commandments,  we  can 
not  set  them  down  as  intentional  changes.  Not  so, 
however,  with  the  fourth  commandment.  Respecting 
this  commandment  they  do  not  claim  that  their  ver 
sion  is  like  that  given  by  God.  They  expressly  claim 
a  change  here,  and  also  that  the  change  has  been 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION. 

made  by  the  Church.  A  few  quotations  from  stand 
ard  Catholic  works  will  make  this  matter  plain.  In  a 
work  entitled  "  Treatise  of  Thirty  Controversies,"  we 
find  these  words  :— 

"  The  word  of  God  commandeth  the  seventh  day  to  be  the  Sab 
bath  of  our  Lord,  and  to  be  kept  holy  ;  you  [Protestants],  with 
out  any  precept  of  Scripture,  change  it  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  only  authorized  by  our  traditions.  Divers  English  Puritans 
oppose,  against  this  point,  that  the  observation  of  the  first  day  is 
proved  out  of  Scripture,  where  it  is  said,  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
Acts  20:  7;  1  Cor.  16:2;  Rev.  1:10.  Have  they  not  spun  a  fair 
thread  in  quoting  these  places  ?  If  we  should  produce  no  better 
for  purgatory  and  prayers  for  the  dead,  invocation  of  the  saints, 
and  the  like,  they  might  have  good  cause,  indeed,  to  laugh  us  to 
scorn  ;  for  where  is  it  written  that  these  were  Sabbath  days  in 
which  those  meetings  were  kept  ?  Or  where  is  it  ordained  they 
should  be  always  observed  ?  Or,  which  is  the  sum  of  all,  where 
is  it  decreed  that  the  observation  of  the  first  day  should  abrogate, 
or  abolish,  the  sanctifying  of  the  seventh  day,  which  God  com 
manded  everlastingly  to  be  kept  holy  ?  Not  one  of  these  is  ex 
pressed  in  the  written  word  of  God." 

In  the  "  Catholic  Catechism  of  Christian  Religion," 
on  the  subject  of  the  third  (fourth)  commandment, 
we  find  these  questions  and  answers  : — 

"  Ques.  What  does  God  ordain  by  this  commandment  ? 

"Ans.  He  ordains  that  we  sanctify,  in  a  special  manner,  this 
day  on  which  he  rested  from  the  labor  of  creation. 

"  Q.  What  is  this  day  of  rest  ? 

"A.  The  seventh  day  of  the  week,  or  Saturday;  for  he  em 
ployed  six  days  in  creation,  and  rested  on  the  seventh.  Gen.  2:2; 
Heb.  4:1;  etc. 

"  Q.  Is  it,  then,  Saturday  we  should  sanctify  in  order  to  obey 
the  ordinance  of  God  ? 

"A.  During  the  old  law,  Saturday  was  the  day  sanctified  ;  but 
the  Church,  instructed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  directed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  has  substituted  Sunday  for  Saturday  ;  so  now  we  sanctify  the 
first,  not  the  seventh  day.  Sunday  means,  and  now  is,  the  day  of 
the  Lord." 

12 


178  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

In  the  "  Catholic  Christian  Instructed,"  we  read  :— 

"  Ques.  What  are  the  days  which  the  Church  commands  to  be 
kept  holy  ? 

"  Ans.  1st.  The  Sunday,  or  the  Lord's  day,  which  we  observe 
by  apostolic  tradition,  instead  of  the  Sabbath.  2dly.  The  feasts 
of  our  Lord's  Nativity,  or  Christmas-day  ;.  his  Circumcision,  or 
New- Year's  day;  the  Epiphany,  or  Twelfth  day ;  Easter-day,  or 
the  day  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection  ;  the  day  of  our  Lord's  Ascen 
sion  ;  Whitsunday,  or  the  day  of  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
Trinity  Sunday  ;  Corpus  Christi,  or  the  feast  of  the  Blessed  Sac 
rament.  3dly.  We  keep  the  day  of  the  Annunciation,  and  As 
sumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  4thly.  We  observe  the 
feast  of  All-Saints. 

"  Q.  What  warrant  have  you  for  keeping  the  Sunday  preferable 
to  the  ancient  Sabbath,  which  was  the  Saturday  ? 

"A.  We  have  for  it  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
apostolic  tradition. 

"  Q.  Does  the  Scripture  anywhere  command  the  Sunday  to  be 
kept  for  the  Sabbath  ? 

"  A.  The  Scripture  commands  us  to  hear  the  church  (Matt.  18: 
17;  Luke  10: 16),  and  to  hold  fast  the  traditions  of  the  apostles. 
2  Thess.  2:15.  But  the  Scriptures  do  not  in  particular  mention 
this  change  of  the  Sabbath.  St.  John  speaks  of  the  Lord's  day 
(Rev.  1:10);  but  he  does  not  tell  us  what  day  of  the  week  this 
was,  much  less  does  he  tell  us  that  this  day  was  to  take  the  place 
of  the  Sabbath  ordained  in  the  commandments.  St.  Luke  also 
speaks  of  the  disciples  meeting  together  to  break  bread  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  Acts  20:  7.  And  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  16:  2)  or 
ders  that  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  the  Corinthians  should  lay 
by  in  store  what  they  designed  to  bestow  in  charity  on  the  faith 
ful  in  Judea  ;  but  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  tells  us  that  this 
first  day  of  the  week  was  to  be  henceforward  the  day  of  worship, 
and  the  Christian  Sabbath  ;  so  that  truly,  the  best  authority  we 
have  for  this  is  the  testimony  and  ordinance  of  the  Church.  And, 
therefore,  those  who  pretend  to  be  so  religious  of  the  Sunday, 
whilst  they  take  no  notice  of  other  festivals  ordained  by  the  same 
Church  authority,  show  that  they  act  by  humor,  and  not  by  reason 
and  religion  ;  since  Sundays  and  holy  days  all  stand  upon  the  same 
foundation,  viz.,  the  ordinance  of  the  Church." — Catholic  Christian 
Instructed,  published  by  P.  J.  Kenedy,  5  Barclay  St.,  New  York,  edi 
tion  of  1884,  pp.  202,  203. 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  179 

In  the  "Doctrinal  Catechism"  we  find  further  tes 
timony  to  the  same  point  :— 

"  Ques.  Have  you  any  other  way  of  proving  that  the  Church  has 
power  to  institute  festivals  of  precept  ? 

"  Ans.  Had  she  not  such  power,  she  conld  not  have  done  that 
in  which  all  modern  religionists  agree  with  her — she  could  not 
have  substituted  the  observance  of  Sunday,  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  for  the  observance  of  Saturday,  the  seventh  day,  a  change 
for  which  there  is  no  Scriptural  authority." — Doctrinal  Catechism, 
P.  J.  Kenedy,  New  York,  p.  174. 

From  the  article  on  "Obedience  to  the  Church," 
Chapter  VI.,  in  the  same  work,  p.  181,  we  take  the 
following : — 

"  Ques.  In  what  manner  can  we  show  a  Protestant  that  he 
speaks  unreasonably  against  fasts  and  abstinences  ? 

"Ans.  Ask  him  why  he  keeps  Sunday,  and  not  Saturday,  as  his 
day  of  rest,  since  he  is  unwilling  either  to  fast  or  to  abstain.  If 
he  reply  that  the  Scripture  orders  him  to  keep  the  Sunday,  but 
says  nothing  as  to  fasting  and  abstinence,  tell  him  the  Scripture 
speaks  of  Saturday,  or  the  Sabbath,  but  gives  no  command  any 
where  regarding  Sunday,  or  the  first  day  of  the  week.  If,  then, 
he  neglects  Saturday  as  a  day  of  rest  and  holiness,  and  substitutes 
Sunday  in  its  place,  and  this  merely  because  such  was  the  usage 
of  the  ancient  Church,  should  he  not,  if  he  wishes  to  act  consist 
ently,  observe  fasting  and  abstinence,  because  the  ancient  Church 
so  ordained  ? " 

The  "Doctrinal  Catechism"  also  attacks  the  prac 
tice  of  Protestants  in  not  adhering  to  their  platform 
that  the  Bible  alone  is  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 
Among  the  things  not  contained  in  the  Scriptures 
which  nevertheless  Protestants  generally  believe,  it 
mentions  the  following  : — 

"It  [the  Scripture]  does  not  tell  us  whether  infants  should  be 
baptized ;  whether  the  obligation  of  keeping  Saturday  holy  has 
been  done  away  with ;  whether  Sunday  should  be  kept  in  its 
place,"  etc. — Id.,  pp.  87,  88. 


180  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

In  "  Abridgment  of  Christian  Doctrine,"  we  find 
this  testimony  : — 

"  Ques.  How  prove  you  that  the  Church  hath  power  to  com 
mand  feasts  and  holy  days  ? 

"  Am.  By  the  very  act  of  changing  the  Sabbath  into  Sunday, 
which  Protestants  allow  of  ;  and  therefore  they  fondly  contradict 
themselves  by  keeping  Sunday  strictly,  and  breaking  most  other 
feasts  commanded  by  the  same  Church. 

"  Q.  How  prove  you  that  ? 

"  A.  Because  by  keeping  Sunday  they  acknowledge  the  Church's 
power  to  ordain  feasts,  and  to  command  them  under  sin." 

And  finally,  W.  Lockhart,  late  B.  A.  of  Oxford,  in 
the  Toronto  (Catholic)  Mirror,  offered  the  following 
"challenge"  to  all  the  Protestants  of  Ireland, — a 
challenge  as  well  calculated  for  this  latitude  as  that. 
He  says  :— 

"I  do,  therefore,  solemnly  challenge  the  Protestants  of  Ireland 
to  prove,  by  plain  texts  of  Scripture,  these  questions  concerning 
the  obligations  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  :  1.  That  Christians  may 
work  on  Saturday,  the  old  seventh  day  ;  2.  That  they  are  bound 
to  keep  holy  the  first  day,  namely,  Sunday  ;  3.  That  they  are  not 
bound  to  keep  holy  the  seventh  day  also." 

This  is- what  the  papal  power  claims  to  have  done 
respecting  the  fourth  (in  their  enumeration,  the  third) 
commandment.  Catholics  plainly  acknowledge  that 
there  is  no  scriptural  authority  for  the  change  they 
have  made  in  this  commandment,  but  that  it  rests 
wholly  upon  the  authority  of  the  Church  ;  and  they 
claim  this  change  as  a  "  token  "  or  "  mark  "  of  the  au 
thority  of  that  Church,  appealing  in  the  most  explicit 
language  to  the  "  very  act  of  changing  tJie  Sabbath 
into  Sunday  "  as  proof  of  its  power  in  this  respect. 
For  further  testimony  on  this  point,  the  reader  is  re 
ferred  to  a  tract  published  at  the  REVIEW  Office,  Bat 
tle  Creek,  Mich.,  entitled,  "  Who  Changed  the  Sab- 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  181 

bath  ?".in  which  are  also  extracts  from  Catholic  writ 
ers  refuting  the  arguments  usually  relied  upon  to 
prove  the  Sunday  Sabbath,  and  showing  that  its  only 
authority  is  the  Catholic  Church. 

"But,"  says  one,  "I  supposed  that  Christ  changed 
the  Sabbath."  A  great  many  suppose  so  ;  and  it  is 
natural  that  they  should  ;  for  they  have  been  so  taught. 
And  while  we  have  no  words  of  denunciation  to  utter 
against  any  such  persons  for  so  believing,  we  would 
have  them  at  once  understand  that  it  is,  in  reality, 
one  of  the  most  enormous  of  all  errors.  We  would 
therefore  remind  such  persons  that,  according  to  the 
prophecy,  the  only  change  ever  to  be  made  in  the 
law  of  God,  was  to  be  made  by  the  little  horn  of  Dan 
iel  7,  the  man  of  sin  of  2  Thessalonians  2  ;  and  the 
only  change  that  has  been  made  in  it,  is  the  change 
of  the  Sabbath.  Now,  if  Christ  made  this  change,  he 
filled  the  office  of  the  blasphemous  power  spoken  of 
by  both  Daniel  and  Paul, — a  conclusion  sufficiently 
hideous  to  drive  any  Christian  from  the  view  which 
leads  thereto. 

Why  should  any  one  labor  to  prove  that  Christ 
changed  the  Sabbath  ?  Whoever  does  this  is  per 
forming  a  thankless  task.  The  pope  will  not  thank 
him  ;  for  if  it  is  proved  that  Christ  wrought  this 
change,  then  the  pope  is  robbed  of  his  badge  of  au 
thority  and  power.  And  no  truly  enlightened  Prot 
estant  will  thank  him  ;  for  if  he  succeeds,  he  only 
shows  that  the  papacy  has  not  done  the  work  which  it 
was  predicted  that  it  should  do,  and  therefore  that  the 
prophecy  has  failed,  and  the  Scriptures  are  unreliable. 
The  matter  had  better  stand  as  the  prophecy  has 
placed  it,  and  the  claim  which  the  pope  unwittingly 
puts  forth  had  better  be  granted.  When  a  person  is 


182  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

charged  with  any  work,  and  abundant  evidence  is  at 
hand  to  show  that  he  did  it,  and  the  jury  bring  in  a 
verdict  of  "  Guilty,"  and  finally  the  person  himself  steps 
forth  and  confesses  that  he  has  done  the  work, — that 
is  usually  considered  sufficient  to  settle  the  matter. 
So,  when  the  prophecy  affirms  that  a  certain  power 
shall  change  the  law  of  God,  and  in  due  time  that  very 
power  arises,  and  does  the  work  foretold,  and  indis 
putable  evidence  is  presented  to  show  that  it  has  done 
the  work,  and  finally  that  power  openly  claims  that 
it  has  done  it, — what  need  have  we  of  further  evi 
dence  ? 

The  world  should  not  forget  that  the  great  apostasy 
foretold  by  Paul  has  taken  place  ;  that  the  "  man  of 
sin"  for  long  ages  held  almost  a  monopoly  of  what  he 
styled  Christian  teaching  in  the  world  ;  that  the  mys 
tery  of  iniquity  has  cast  the  darkness  of  its  shadow 
and  the  errors  of  its  doctrines  over  almost  all  Christen 
dom  ;  and  that  out  of  this  era  of  error  and  darkness 
and  corruption,  the  theology  of  our  day  has  come. 
Would  it,  then,  be  anything  strange  to  find  that  there 
are  yet  some  relics  of  popery  to  be  discarded  ere  the 
Reformation  will  be  complete  ?  A.  Campbell  (Bap 
tism,  p.  15),  speaking  of  the  Protestant  sects,  says  : — 

"All  of  them  retain  in  their  bosom — in  their  ecclesiastical  or 
ganizations,  worship,  doctrines,  and  observances — various  relics 
of  popery.  They  are  at  best  a  reformation  of  popery,  and  only 
reformations  in  part.  The  doctrines  and  traditions  of  men  yet 
impair  the  power  and  progress  of  the  gospel  in  their  hands." 

The  nature  of  the  change  which  the  little  horn  has 
attempted  to  effect  in  the  law  of  God  is  worthy  of 
notice.  With  true  Satanic  instinct,  he  undertakes  to 
change  that  commandment  which,  of  all  others,  is  the 
fundamental  commandment  of  the  law,  the  one  which 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  183 

makes  known  "who  the  lawgiver  is,  and  contains  his 
signature  of  royalty.  The  fourth  commandment  does 
this  ;  no  other  one  does.  Four  others,  it  is  true,  con 
tain  the  word  "  God,"  and  three  of  them  the  word 
" Lord, "also.  But  who  is  this  Lord  God  of  whom 
they  speak  ?  Without  the  fourth  commandment,  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  ;  for  idolaters  of  every  grade  might 
apply  these  terms  to  the  multitudinous  objects  of  their 
adoration.  But  when  we  have  the  fourth  command 
ment  to  point  out  the  Author  of  the  decalogue,  the 
claims  of  every  false  god  are  annulled  at  one  stroke  ; 
for  it  is  at  once  seen  that  the  God  who  here  demands 
our  worship  is  not  any  created  being,  but  the  one 
who  created  all  things.  The  maker  of  the  earth  and 
sea,  the  sun  and  moon,  and  all  the  starry  host,  the 
upholder  and  governor  of  the  universe,  is  the  one 
who  claims,  and  who,  from  his  position,  has  a  right 
to  claim,  our  supreme  regard  in  preference  to  every 
other  object.  The  commandment  which  makes 
known  these  facts  is,  therefore,  the  very  one  we 
might  suppose  that  power  which  designed  to  exalt 
itself  above  God  (2  Thess.  2:3,  4)  would  undertake 
to  change.  God  gave  the  Sabbath  as  a  memorial  of 
himself,  a  weekly  reminder  to  the  sons  of  men  of  his 
work  in  creating  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  a  great 
barrier  against  atheism  and  idolatry.  It  is  the  signa 
ture  and  seal  of  the  law.  This  the  papacy  has  torn 
from  its  place,  and  erected  in  its  stead,  on  its  own  au 
thority,  another  institution,  designed  to  serve  another 
purpose. 

This  change  of  the  fourth  commandment  must 
therefore  be  the  change  to  which  the  prophecy 
points,  and  Sunday-keeping  must  be  the  "  mark  of 
the  beast "  !  Some  who  have  long  been  taught  to 


184  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

regard  this  institution  with  reverence  will  perhaps 
start  back  with  little  less  than  feelings  of  horror  at  this 
conclusion.  We  have  not  space,  nor  is  this  perhaps 
the  place,  to  enter  into  an  extended  argument  on  the 
Sabbath  question,  and  an  exposition  of  the  origin 
and  nature  of  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  Let  us  submit  this  one  proposition  :  If  the 
seventh  day  is  still  the  Sabbath  enjoined  in  the  fourth 
commandment  ;  if  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of 
the  week  has  no  foundation  whatever  in  the  Script 
ures  ;  if  this  observance  has  been  brought  in  as  a 
Christian  institution,  and  designedly  put  in  place  of 
the  Sabbath  of  the  decalogue  by  that  power  which  is 
symbolized  by  the  beast,  and  placed  there  as  a  badge 
and  token  of  its  power  to  legislate  for  the  Church,  is 
it  not  inevitably  the  mark  of  the  beast  ?  The  answer 
must  be  in  the  affirmative.  But  all  these  hypotheses 
can  easily  be  shown  to  be  certainties.  See  "  History 
of  the  Sabbath,"  and  other  works  on  the  subject,  pub 
lished  at  the  REVIEW  Office.  To  these  we  can  only 
refer  the  reader,  in  passing. 

It  will  be  said  again,  Then  all  Sunday-keepers  have 
the  mark  of  the  beast ;  then  all  the  good  of  past  ages 
who  kept  this  day,  had  the  mark  of  the  beast ;  then 
Luther,  Whitefield,  the  Wesleys,  and  all  who  have 
done  a  good  and  noble  work  of  reformation,  had  the 
mark  of  the  beast ;  then  all  the  blessings  that  have 
been  poured  upon  the  reformed  churches  have  been 
poured  upon  those  who  had  the  mark  of  the  beast. 
We  answer,  No!  And  we  are  sorry  to  say  that  some 
professedly  religious  teachers,  though  many  times 
corrected,  persist  in  misrepresenting  us  on  this  point. 
We  have  never  so  held  ;  we  have  never  so  taught. 
Our  premises  lead  to  no  such  conclusions.  Give  ear  : 


THE  SUNDAY  QUESTION.  185 

The  mark  and  worship  of  the  beast  are  enforced  by 
the  two-horned  beast.  The  receiving  of  the  mark  of 
the  beast  is  a  specific  act  which  the  two-horned  beast 
is  to  cause  to  be  done.  The  third  message  of  Rev. 
14  is  a  warning  mercifully  sent  out  in  advance  to  pre 
pare  the  people  for  the  coming  danger.  There  can, 
therefore,  be  no  worship  of  the  beast,  nor  reception 
of  his  mark,  such  as  is  contemplated  in  the  prophecy, 
////  it  is  enforced  by  the  t^^vo-horned  beast.  We  have 
seen  that  intention  was  essential  to  the  change  which 
the  papacy  has  made  in  the  law  of  God,  to  constitute 
it  the  mark  of  that  power.  So  intention  is  necessary 
in  the  adoption  of  that  change  to  make  it,  on  the  part 
of  any  individual,  the  reception  of  that  mark.  In 
other  words,  a  person  must  adopt  the  change  know 
ing  it  to  be  the  work  of  the  beast,  and  receive  it  on 
the  authority  of  that  power,  in  opposition  to  the  re 
quirement  of  God. 

But  how  with  those  referred  to  above,  who  have 
kept  Sunday  in  the  past,  and  the  majority  of  those 
who  are  keeping  it  to-day  ?  Do  they  keep  it  as  an 
institution  of  the  papacy  ? — No.  Have  they  decided 
between  this  and  the  Sabbath  of  our  Lord,  under 
standing  the  claims  of  each  ? — No.  On  what  ground 
have  they  kept  it,  and  do  they  still  keep  it  ? — They 
suppose  they  are  keeping  a  commandment  of  God. 
Have  such  the  mark  of  the  beast  ? — By  no  means. 
Their  course  is  attributable  to  an  error  unwittingly 
received  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  not  to  an  act  of 
worship  rendered  to  it. 

But  how  is  it  to  be  in  the  future  ? — The  Church 
which  is  to  be  prepared  for  the  second  coming  of 
Christ  must  be  entirely  free  from  papal  errors  and 
corruptions.  A  reform  must  hence  be  made  on  the 


186  THE  MARVEL   OF  NATIONS 

Sabbath  question.  The  third  angel  (Rev.  1-i  :  9-12) 
proclaims  the  commandments  of  God,  leading  men 
to  the  true  in  place  of  the  counterfeit.  The 
dragon  is  stirred,  and  so  controls  the  wicked  govern 
ments  of  the  earth  that  all  the  authority  of  human 
power  shall  be  exerted  to  enforce  the  claims  of  the 
man  of  sin.  Then  the  issue  is  fairly  before  the  peo 
ple.  On  the  one  hand,  they  are  required  to  keep  the 
true  Sabbath  ;  on  the  other,  a  counterfeit.  For  re 
fusing  to  keep  the  true,  the  message  denounces  the 
unmingled  wrath  of  God  ;  for  refusing  the  false, 
earthly  governments  threaten  them  with  persecution 
and  death.  With  this  issue  before  the  people,  what 
does  he  do  who  yields  to  the  human  requirement  ? 
—He  virtually  says  to  God,  I  know  your  claims,  but 
I  will  not  heed  them.  I  know  that  the  power  I  am 
required  to  worship  is  anti-Christian,  but  I  yield  to 
it  to  save  my  life.  I  renounce  your  allegiance,  and 
bow  to  the  usurper.  The  beast  is  henceforth  the  ob 
ject  of  my  adoration  ;  under  his  banner,  in  opposi 
tion  to  your  authority,  1  henceforth  array  myself;  to 
him,  in  defiance  of  your  claims,  I  henceforth  yield  the 
obedience  of  my  heart  and  life.  In  comparison  with 
the  fear  of  his  punishments,  I  despise  your  wrath. 

Such  is  the  spirit  which  will  actuate  the  hearts  of 
the  beast-worshipers, — a  spirit  which  insults  the  God 
of  the  universe  to  his  face,  and  is  prevented  only  by 
lack  of  power  from  overthrowing  his  government 
and  annihilating  his  throne.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
Jehovah  denounces  against  so  Heaven-daring  a  course 
the  threatening  brought  to  view  in  the  scripture  last 
referred  to — the  most  terrible  threatening  that  his 
word  contains  ?  Rev.  14  :  9-12. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING  CHANGES. 

E  have  now  found  what,  according  to  the 
prophecy,  will  constitute  the  image  which  the 
two-horned  beast  is  to  cause  to  be  made,  and 
the  mark  which  it  will  attempt  to  enforce.  The  move 
ment  which  is  to  fulfill  this  portion  of  the  prophecy  is 
to  be  looked  for  among  those  classes  which  constitute 
the  professedly  religious  portion  of  the  people.  First, 
some  degree  of  union  must  be  effected  between  the 
various  Protestant  churches,  with  some  degree  of  co 
alition,  also,  between  these  bodies  and  the  beast  power, 
or  Roman  Catholicism  ;  and  secondly,  steps  must  be 
taken  to  bring  the  law  of  the  land  to  the  support  of 
the  Sunday  Sabbath.  These  movements  the  proph 
ecy  calls  for  ;  and  the  line  of  argument  leading  to 
these  conclusions  is  so  direct  and  well-defined  that 
there  is  no  avoiding  them.  They  are  a  clear  and 
logical  sequence  from  the  premises  given  us. 

When  the  application  of  Rev.  13  :  11-17  to  the 
United  States  was  first  made,  over  thirty-five  years 
ago,  these  positions  respecting  a  union  of  the  churches 
and  a  grand  Sunday  movement  were  taken.  But  at 
that  time  no  sign  appeared  above  or  beneath,  at  home 
or  abroad, — no  token  was  seen,  no  indication  existed, 
that  such  an  issue  would  ever  be  made.  But  there 
was  the  prophecy,  and  that  must  stand.  The  United 
States  government  had  given  abundant  evidence,  by 
its  location,  the  time  of  its  rise,  the  manner  of  its  rise, 
and  its  apparent  character,  that  it  was  the  power  sym- 

[187] 


188  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATION'S. 

bolized  by  the  two-horned  beast.  There  could  be  no 
mistake  in  the  conclusion  that  it  was  the  very  nation 
intended  by  that  symbol.  This  being  so,  it  must  take 
the  course,  and  perform  the  acts  foretold.  But  here 
were  predictions  which  could  be  fulfilled  by  nothing 
less  than  the  above-named  religious  movements,  re 
sulting  in  a  virtual  union  of  Church  and  State,  and 
the  enforcement  of  the  papal  Sabbath  as  a  mark  of 
the  beast. 

To  take  the  position  at  that  time  that  this  govern 
ment  was  to  pursue  such  a  policy  and  engage  in  such 
a  work,  without  any  apparent  probability  in  its  favor, 
was  no  small  act  of  faith.  On  the  other  hand,  to  deny 
or  ignore  it,  while  admitting  the  application  of  the 
symbol  to  this  government,  would  be  in  accordance 
with  neither  Scripture  nor  logic.  The  only  course 
for  the  humble,  confiding  student  of  prophecy  to  pur 
sue  in  such  cases,  is  to  take  the  light  as  it  is  given, 
and  believe  the  prophecy  in  all  its  parts.  So  the 
stand  was  boldly  taken  ;  and  open  proclamation  has 
been  made  from  that  day  to  this,  that  such  a  work 
would  be  seen  in  the  United  States.  With  every  re 
view  of  the  argument,  new  features  of  strength  have 
been  discovered  in  the  application  ;  and  amid  a  storm 
of  scornful  incredulity,  we  have  watched  the  progress 
of  events,  and  awaited  the  hour  of  fulfillment. 

Meanwhile,  Spiritualism  has  astonished  the  world 
with  its  terrible  progress,  and  shown  itself  to  be  the 
wonder-working  element  which  was  to  exist  in  con 
nection  with  this  power.  This  has  mightily  strength 
ened  the  evidence  of  the  application.  And  now,  within 
a  few  years  past,  what  have  we  further  seen  ? — No 
less  than  the  commencement  of  that  very  movement 
respecting  the  formation  of  the  image  and  the  enact- 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING  CHANGES.          189 

ment  of  Sunday  laws,  which  we  have  so  long  expected, 
and  which  is  to  complete  the  prophecy,  and  close  the 
scene. 

Reference  was  made  in  Chapter  XL  to  the  move 
ment  now  on  foot  for  a  grand  union  of  all  the  Churches  ; 
not  a  union  which  rises  from  the  putting  away  of 
error  and  uniting  upon  the  harmonious  principles  of 
truth,  but  simply  a  combination  of  sects,  each  retain 
ing  its  own  particular  creed,  but  confederated  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  more  extensively  the  com 
mon  points  of  their  faith.  This  movement  finds  a 
strong  undercurrent  of  favor  in  all  the  Churches  ;  and 
men  are  engaged  to  carry  it  through  who  are  not 
easily  turned  from  their  purpose. 

And  there  has  suddenly  arisen  a  class  of  men  whose 
souls  are  absorbed  with  the  cognate  idea  of  Sunday 
reform,  and  who  have  dedicated  every  energy  of  their 
being  to  the  carrying  forward  of  this  kindred  move 
ment.  The  New  York  Sabbath  Committee  have 
labored  zealously,  by  means  of  books,  tracts,  speeches, 
and  sermons,  to  create  a  strong  public  sentiment  in 
behalf  of  Sunday.  Making  slow  progress  through 
moral  suasion,  they  seek  a  shorter  path  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  their  purposes  through  political  power. 
And  why  not  ?  Christianity  has  become  popular,  and 
her  professed  adherents  are  numerous.  Why  not 
avail  themselves  of  the  power  of  the  ballot  to  secure 
their  ends?  Rev.  J.  S.  Smart  (Methodist),  in  a  pub 
lished  sermon  on  the  "  Political  Duties  of  Christian 
Men  and  Ministers,"  expresses  a  largely  prevailing 
sentiment  on  this  question,  when  he  says  : — 

"I  claim  that  we  have,  and  ought  to  have,  just  as  much  concern 
in  the  government  of  this  country  as  any  other  men.  .  .  .  We  are 
the  mass  of  the  people.  Virtue  in  this  country  is  not  weak  ;  her 


190  THE   MARVEL    OF1   NATIONS. 

ranks  arc;  strong  in  numbers,  and  invincible  from  the  righteous 
ness  of  her  cause — invincible  if  united.  Let  not  her  ranks  be 
broken  by  party  names." 

A  National  Association  has  been  in  existence  for 
a  number  of  years,  which  has  for  its  object  the  secur 
ing  of  such  amendments  to  the  national  Constitution 
as  shall  express  the  religious  views  of  the  majority  of 
the  people,  and  make  it  an  instrument  under  which 
the  keeping  of  Sunday  can  be  enforced  as  the  Chris 
tian  Sabbath.  This  Association  already  embraces 
within  its  organization  a  long  array  of  eminent  and 
honorable  names, — Governors  of  States,  Presidents  of 
colleges,  Bishops,  Doctors  of  Divinity,  Doctors  of 
Law,  and  men  who  occupy  high  positions  in  all  the 
walks  of  life. 

In  the  Address  issued  by  the  officers  of  this  Asso 
ciation,  they  say  : — 

"Men  of  high  standing,  in  every  walk  of  life,  of  every  section 
of  the  country,  and  of  every  shade  of  political  sentiment  and  re 
ligious  belief,  have  concurred  in  the  measure." 

In  their  appeal,  they  most  earnestly  request  every 
lover  of  his  country  to  join  in  forming  auxiliary  asso 
ciations,  to  circulate  documents,  attend  conventions, 
sign  the  memorial  to  Congress,  etc.,  etc. 

In  their  plea  for  an  amended  Constitution,  they  ask 
the  people  to— 

"  Consider  that  God  is  not  once  named  in  our  national  Consti 
tution.  There  is  nothing  in  it  which  requires  an  '  oath  of  God/  as 
the  Bible  styles  it  (which,  after  all,  is  the  great  bond  both  of  loy 
alty  in  the  citizen  and  of  fidelity  in  the  magistrate), — nothing 
which  requires  the  observance  of  the  day  of  rest  and  worship,  or 
which  respects  its  sanctity.  If  we  do  not  have  the  mails  carried 
and  the  post-offices  open  on  Sunday,  it  is  because  we  have  a  Post 
master-General  who  respects  the  day.  If  our  Supreme  Courts  are 
not  held,  and  if  Congress  does  not  sit  on  that  day,  it  is  custom. 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.          191 

and  not  law,  that  makes  it  so.  Nothing  in  the  Constitution  gives 
Sunday  quiet  to  the  custom-house,  the  navy-yard,  the  barracks,  or 
any  of  the  departments  of  government. 

"  Consider  that  they  fairly  express  the  mind  of  the  great  body 
of  the  American  people.  This  is  a  Christian  people.  These 
amendments  agree  with  the  faith,  the  feelings,  and  the  forms  of 
every  Christian  church  or  sect.  The  Catholic  and  the  Protestant, 
the  Unitarian  and  the  Trinitarian,  profess  and  approve  all  that  is 
here  proposed.  Why  should  their  wishes  not  become  law  ?  Why 
should  not  the  Constitution  be  made  to  suit  and  to  represent  a 
constituency  so  overwhelmingly  in  the  majority  ?  .  .  . 

"This  great  majority  are  becoming  daily  more  conscious  not 
only  of  their  rights,  but  of  their  power.  Their  number  grows, 
and  their  column  becomes  more  solid.  They  have  quietly,  stead 
ily,  opposed  infidelity,  until  it  has  at  least  become  politically  un 
popular.  They  have  asserted  the  rights  of  man  and  the  rights  of 
the  government,  until  the  nation's  faith  has  become  measurably 
fixed  and  declared  on  these  points.  And  now  that  the  close  of  the 
war  gives  us  occasion  to  amend  our  Constitution,  that  it  may 
clearly  and  fully  represent  the  mind  of  the  people  on  these  points, 
they  feel  that  it  should  also  be  so  amended  as  to  recognize  the 
rights  of  God  in  man  and  in  government.  Is  it  anything  but  due 
to  their  long  patience  that  they  bo  at  length  allowed  to  speak  out 
the  great  facts  and  principles  which  give  to  all  government  its 
dignity,  stability,  and  beneficence  ?  " 

Thus  for  several  years  a  movement  has  been  on 
foot,  daily  growing  in  extent,  importance,  and  power, 
to  fulfill  that  portion  of  the  prophecy  of  Rev.  13  :  11— 
17  which  first  calls  forth  the  dissent  of  the  objector, 
and  which  appears  from  every  point  of  view  the  most 
improbable  of  all  the  specifications  ;  namely,  the  mak 
ing  of  an  image  to  the  beast  and  the  enforcing  of 
the  mark.  Beyond  this,  nothing  remains  but  the 
sharp  conflict  of  the  people  of  God  with  this  earthly 
power,  and  the  eternal  triumph  of  the  overcomer. 

An  association,  even  now  national  in  its  character, 
as  already  noticed,  and  endeavoring,  as  is  appropriate 
for  those  who  have  such  objects  in  view,  to  secure 


192  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

their  purposes  under  the  sanction  of  the  highest  au 
thority  of  the  land,  the  national  Constitution,  already 
has  this  matter  in  hand.  In  the  interest  of  this  Asso 
ciation  there  is  published,  in  Philadelphia,  a  weekly 
paper  called  the  Christian  Statesman,  in  advocacy  of 
this  movement.  Every  issue  of  that  paper  goes  forth 
filled  with  arguments  and  appeals  from  some  of  the 
ablest  pens  in  our  land,  in  favor  of  the  desired  Con 
stitutional  Amendment.  These  are  the  very  meth 
ods  by  which,  in  a  country  like  ours,  great  revolutions 
are  accomplished  ;  and  no  movement  has  ever  arisen 
in  so  short  a  space  of  time  as  this  to  so  high  a  posi 
tion  in  public  esteem  with  certain  classes,  and  taken 
so  strong  a  hold  upon  their  hearts. 

Says  Mr.  G.  A.  Townsend  (New  World  and  Old,  p. 
212)  :- 

"Church  and  State  has  several  times  crept  into  American  poli 
tics,  as  in  the  contentions  over  the  Bible  in  the  public  schools,  the 
anti-Catholic  party  of  1854,  etc.  Our  people  have  been  wise 
enough  heretofore  to  respect  the  clergy  in  all  religious  questions, 
and  to  entertain  a  wholesome  jealousy  of  them  in  politics.  The 
latest  politico-theological  moveme?it  [italics  ours]  is  to  insert  the  name 
of  the  Deity  in  the  Constitution." 

The  present  movements  of  this  National  Reform 
Association,  and  the  progress  it  has  made,  may  be 
gathered  somewhat  from  the  following  sketch  of  its 
history,  and  the  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  some 
of  the  conventions  which  have  thus  far  been  held. 

From  the  Pittsburg  (Pa.)  Commercial  of  Feb.  6, 
1874,  we  take  the  following  :— 

"The  present  movement  to  secure  the  religious  amendment  of 
the  Constitution  originated  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  in  February,  1863,  in 
a  convention  composed  of  eleven  different  religious  denominations, 
who  assembled  for  prayer  and  conference,  not  in  regard  to  the 
amendment  of  the  Constitution,  but  the  state  of  religion.  Meet- 


*  * 
O*"'~,  '*-"<.  ^  f^  '/r-—  *•  -^  >.-  ';,':  '-^-f— '    ';~>~  ^'^s,  .^' 'f  '~   -*•*<"  *ff  S*-r~ 

C'^ft,* £-~*.         *ff        +*'     '  "I.         C    ff-~-    y  «--'•'   +•'  f  fT.         X-   /•          /••        •**•  f  f.*-- *r  *r -±       ''         *'*-  ;-'  ••      f  f-  ». 

r';-^^--*-  ,  »'-  -  »  *-  .  ^»...  *vy         , ,:  ,, 

p^,,.",^,,,^<..,,        ,,_.<.,    ,*.-;„  .^/    ,^^V  ^txt.,,',   ',',  ^  ..-:^    ',        ,,.-r  «»->•' 
C-^-*;^I-T  ''"'  ', '*'    t  f^f^'t^'^'f,'  ''ff~  "^ ,'',^  '^''j--r~,  '**"  *'<,'  "  v~/-*""r 
<r,.-d  t:^*  *,?,£r  fr:/;r:'':>  or  t?^:  AvfX^t;/^^  V-   '.r^r«:.c  V/ 
5orm  ai.,z:;I:^.rv  s.t-vx.:-**:.1'^^,     A'l  *''~?r*i*-.  **-ss •  ~z,:'^J~~>~- 


194  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

knowledge  itself  in  its  written  Constitution  to  be  a  Christian  na 
tion. 

"Resolved,  That  the  proposed  religious  amendment,  so  far  from 
tending  to  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  is  directly  opposed  to 
such  union,  inasmuch  as  it  recognizes  the  nation's  own  relations  to 
God,  and  insists  that  the  nation  should  acknowledge  these  rela 
tions  for  itself,  and  not  through  the  medium  of  any  church  estab 
lishment." 

Of  the  fifth  annual  Convention  at  Pittsburg,  Feb.  4, 
1874,  Eld.  J.  H.  Waggoner,  who  went  as  a  correspond 
ent  from  the  S.  D.  Adventists,  says,  in  the  Advent 
Review  of  Feb.  17,  1874  :— 

"This  was  a  meeting  of  delegates,  but  was  largely  attended. 
The  number  of  delegates  holding  certificates  was  641  ;  non-certi 
fied,  432;  total,  1,073,  representing  18  States.  Petitions  to  Con 
gress,  partially  returned,  as  I  understood,  footed  up  over  54,000 
names. 

"It  has  been  strongly  impressed  upon  my  mind  that  we  have 
underestimated,  rather  than  overestimated,  the  rapid  growth  and 
power  of  this  movement.  Those  who  think  we  have  been  deluded 
in  confidently  looking  for  a  great  change  in  the  nature  and  policy 
of  our  government,  could  but  be  convinced  that  we  are  right  in 
this  if  they  would  attend  such  a  meeting  as  this,  or  by  other  means 
become  acquainted  with  what  is  actually  taking  place  in  this  re 
spect.  The  reason  assigned  for  calling  a  delegated  convention  is 
that  no  place  could  be  found  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  mass- 
meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  cause.  But  it  is  proposed  to  hold 
mass-meetings  in  the  several  States,  and  have  a  general  grand  rally 
in  1876,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  our  independence. 

"The  animus  of  this  meeting  cannot  be  understood  nor  appre 
ciated  by  any  one  who  did  not  attend  it.  It  was  a  large  gathering 
of  delegates  and  others,  and  for  enthusiasm  and  unanimity,  is  rarely 
equaled.  This  feature  can  be  but  feebly  described  in  any  pub 
lished  report ;  and  I  notice  that  some  of  the  most  significant  and 
stirring  expressions  are  left  out  of  the  most  complete  reports  of 
the  speeches  yet  given. 

"The  officers  of  the  Association  for  the  coming  year  are,  Presi 
dent,  Hon.  Felix  R.  Brunot,  Pittsburg,  with  99  Vice-Presidents, 
among  whom  are  4  governors,  5  State  superintendents  of  public 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.          195 

instruction,  9  bishops,  15  judges  of  higher  courts,  and  41  college 
presidents  and  professors,  and  the  others  are  all  eminent  men ; 
General  Secretary,  Rev.  D.  McAllister,  N.  Y.  ;  Corresponding  Sec 
retary,  Rev.  T.  P.  Stevenson,  Philadelphia." 

In  his  opening  address,  the  President  of  the  Na 
tional  Association,  and  chairman  of  this  fifth  Conven 
tion,  Hon.  Felix  R.  Brunot,  said  that  their  "cause 
had  made  the  progress  of  twenty  years  in  five  ;"  and 
the  general  Secretary,  D.  McAllister,  said  of  the  past 
year  that  it  had  "numbered  a  larger  array  of  acces 
sions  to  our  ranks  than  any  two,  or  three,  or  perhaps 
five,  preceding  years." 

Instead  of  a  large  national  convention  in  1875,  four 
conventions,  more  local  in  their  nature,  were  held  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  as  follows  :— 

One  in  Tremont  Temple,  Boston,  Mass.,  Dec.  16, 
1874  ;  one  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Jan.  27  and  28, 1875  ;  one 
for  Kansas  and  adjacent  States,  Feb.  10  and  11  ;  and 
one  for  Ohio  and  adjoining  States,  early  in  March. 

Of  the  meeting  in  St.  Louis,  the  Christian  States 
man  of  February,  1875,  said  :— 

"  The  Convention  of  citizens  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  and 
neighboring  States,  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  on  the  27th  and  28th 
of  last  month,  was  a  triumphant  success.  In  a  city  where  there 
was  but  a  small  constituency  committed  in  advance  to  the  support 
of  the  proposed  amendment,  public  attention  has  been  earnestly 
drawn  to  the  movement ;  a  large  audience  was  called  out  at  all  the 
sessions  of  the  Convention,  and  full  reports  of  the  able  addresses 
delivered  have  been  published  in  the  city  papers.  By  special  ar 
rangement,  the  St.  Louis  Globe  gave  a  full  report,  like  that  of  the 
Pittsburg  Commercial  or  the  Globe  of  Boston,  but  the  other  papers 
also  contained  full  and  respectful  accounts  of  the  proceedings. 
Fully  one  thousand  people  were  present  at  the  opening  session, 
and  at  least  three  hundred  at  the  day  sessions  on  Thursday.  Three 
hundred  and  ninety-four  names  were  enrolled  as  members  of  the 
Convention.  The  address  of  J.  C.  Wells,  Esq.,  a  lawyer  from 
Chillicothe,  Illinois,  was  marked  by  the  same  fervor  of  argument 


196  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

and  fervent  Christian  spirit  which  lend  so  much  power  and  attract 
iveness  to  his  able  little  book  entitled  'Our  National  Obligation.' 
Mr.  Wells  was  also  chosen  President  of  the  Convention.  The 
friends  in  St.  Louis  and  vicinity  are  to  be  congratulated  on  this  re 
sult." 

"The  closing  resolution  adopted  at  the  Convention  reads  : — 
"  'Resolved,  That,  recognizing  the  importance  of  this  subject,  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  present  and  advocate  it  until  the  nation  shall 
declare  its  Christian  character,  as  it  has,  with  one  consent,  already 
asserted  its  freedom  in  the  charter  of  our  rights  and  liberties."* 

Nov.  9,  1875,  a  special  meeting  of  the  National  As 
sociation  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  at  which  meet 
ing  the  Association  took  steps  which  have  since  been 
carried  out,  to  become  incorporated  in  law,  under  the 
name  of  the  "National  Reform  Association."  The 
Christian  Statesman  of  Nov.  20,  1875,  contained  the 
following  notice  of  this  meeting  :— 

"The  evening  session  was  well  attended,  and  was  altogether  the 
most  encouraging  meeting  in  behalf  of  the  cause  hold  in  this  city 
for  many  years. "' 

The  subsequent  action  of  the  executive  committee 
is  reported  as  follows  : — 

"The  executive  committee  has  since  taken  steps  to  obtain  a 
charter  of  incorporation  for  the  Society,  and  to  secure  an  office 
which  shall  be  a  recognized  head-quarters  for  its  operations  and 
depository  of  its  publications,  especially  during  the  centennial 
year." 

An  important  meeting  was  held  in  Philadelphia  at 
the  time  of  the  Centennial  Exposition,  and  meetings 
have  been  held  each  year  since,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  Association  has  at  the  present  time  the  follow 
ing  board  of  officers  :  A  president,  corresponding  sec 
retary,  financial  secretary,  recording  secretary,  treas 
urer,  four  district  secretaries,  and  fifty-three  vice- 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          197 

presidents.  Among  these,  besides  the  President, 
Hon.  Felix  R.  Brunot,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  are  seven  Rev 
erends,  twenty-eight  D.  D.'s  (sixteen  of  these  are 
presidents  of,  or  professors  in,  colleges  and  other  in 
stitutions  of  learning,  and  most  of  the  others  are  bish 
ops  and  presiding  elders),  nine  LL.  D.'s,  four  justices 
of  supreme  courts,  two  editors,  two  generals,  etc. 

Whatever  influence  great  names  can  impart  to  any 
cause  is  certainly  secured  in  favor  of  this.  Mr.  F.  E. 
Abbott,  then  editor  of  the  Index,  published  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  who  was  present  at  the  Cincinnati  Convention, 
and  presented  a  protest  against  its  aims  and  efforts, 
thus  speaks  of  those  who  stand  at  the  head  of  this 
movement : — 

"  We  found  them  to  be  so  thoroughly  sincere  and  earnest  in 
their  purpose,  that  they  did  not  fear  the  effect  of  a  decided  but 
temperate  protest.  This  fact  speaks  volumes  in  their  praise  as 
men  of  character  and  convictions.  We  saw  no  indications  of  the 
artful  management  which  characterizes  most  conventions.  The 
leading  men,  Rev.  D.  McAllister,  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan,  Prof.  Sloane, 
Prof.  Stoddard,  Prof.  Wright,  Rev.  T.  P.  Stevenson,  impressed  us 
as  able,  clear-headed,  and  thoroughly  honest  men  ;  and  we  could 
not  but  conceive  a  great  respect  for  their  motives  and  their  inten 
tions.  It  is  such  qualities  as  these  in  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
that  give  it  its  most  formidable  character.  They  have  definite  and 
consistent  ideas  ;  they  perceive  the  logical  connection  of  these 
ideas,  and  advocate  them  in  a  very  cogent  and  powerful  manner ; 
and  they  propose  to  push  them  with  determination  and  zeal.  Con 
cede  their  premises,  and  it  is  impossible  to  deny  their  conclusions; 
and  since  these  premises  are  axiomatic  truths  with  the  great  ma 
jority  of  Protestant  Christians,  the  effect  of  the  vigorous  campaign 
on  which  they  are  entering  cannot  be  small  or  despicable.  The 
very  respect  with  which  we  were  compelled  to  regard  them  only  in 
creases  our  sense  of  the  evils  which  lie  gerininant  in  their  doc 
trines  ;  and  we  came  home  with  the  conviction  that  religious  lib 
erty  in  America  must  do  battle  for  its  very  existence  hereafter. 
The  movement  in  which  these  men  are  engaged  has  too  many  ele 
ments  of  strength  to  be  contemned  by  any  far-seeing  liberal. 


198  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

Blindness  or  sluggishness  to-day  means  slavery  to-morrow.  Rad 
icalism  must  pass  now  from  thought  to  action,  or  it  will  deserve 
the  oppression  that  lies  in  wait  to  overwhelm  it." 

To  show  the  strong  convictions  of  many  minds  that 
the  conflict  here  indicated  is  inevitable,  we  present 
some  further  extracts  from  the  Index.  In  its  issue  of 
Feb.  12,  18H,  it  says  :— 

"Yet  in  this  one  point  the  Christianizers  show  an  unerring  in 
stinct.  The  great  battle  between  the  ideas  of  the  State  and  the 
ideas  of  the  Church  will  indeed  be  fought  out  in  the  organic  law 
of  the  nation.  The  long  and  bitter  conflict  of  chattel-slavery  with 
free  industry  began  in  the  world  of  ideas,  passed  to  the  arena  of 
politics,  burst  into  the  hell  of  war,  and  expired  in  the  peaceful 
suffrages  by  which  Freedom  was  enthroned  in  the  Constitution. 
The  old  story  will  be  repeated  ;  for  it  is  the  same  old  conflict  in  a 
new  guise,  though  we  hope,  and  would  fain  believe,  that  the 
dreaded  possibility  of  another  civil  war  is  in  fact  an  impossibility. 
But  that  the  agitation  now  begun  can  find  no  end  until  either 
Christianity  or  Freedom  shall  have  molded  the  Constitution  wholly 
into  its  own  likeness,  is  one  of  the  fatalities  to  be  read  in  the  very 
nature  of  the  conflicting  principles.  The  battle  of  the  amend 
ments  is  at  hand.  A  thousand  minor  issues  hide  it  from  sight ; 
but  none  the  less  it  approaches  year  by  year,  month  by  month, 
day  by  day.  Cowardice  to  the  rear  !  Courage  to  the  front  ! " 

The  sentiment  here  expressed,  that  "  the  agitation 
now  begun  can  find  no  end  until  either  Christianity 
or  Freedom  [by  which  the  Index  means  infidelity] 
shall  have  molded  the  Constitution  wholly  into  its 
own  likeness,"  is  becoming  the  settled  conviction  of 
many  minds.  It  is  not  difficult  to  foresee  the  result. 
Infidel,  the  Constitution  can  never  become  ;  hence  it 
will  become  wholly  the  instrument  of  that  type  of 
Christianity  which  the  Amendmentists  are  now  seek 
ing. 

Again  the  Index  says  : — 

"  The  central  ideas  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Republic  are  locked 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING   CHANGES.         199 

in  deadly  combat — none  the  less  so,  because  the  battle-ground  of 
to-day  is  the  invisible  field  of  thought.  To-morrow  the  struggle 
will  be  in  the  arena  of  politics,  and  then  no  eye  will  be  so  blind 
as  not  to  see  it." 

At  the  Pittsburg-  Convention  in  1874, — 

"Dr.  Kieffer  said  that  this  movement  was  more  political  than 
ecclesiastical,  appealing  to  the  patriotism  of  all  classes  alike,  and 
should  be  accepted  by  all.  Dr.  Hodge  said  it  was  in  no  sense  sec 
tarian,  and  the  ends  it  sought  could  be  accepted  by  one  denomina 
tion  as  well  as  by  another,— by  the  Catholic  as  well  as  by  the  Prot 
estant.  He  said  it  was  destined  to  unite  all  classes.  And  their 
work  was  all  in  this  direction." 

The  following,  also  from  the  Index,  we  copy  from 
the  Christian  Statesman  of  Jan.  2,  1875.  We  do  not 
indorse  its  statements  as  applied  to  real  Christianity, 
but  it  probably  expresses  the  view  which  will  be  taken 
of  this  matter  by  the  churches  generally,  and  so  may 
be  regarded  as  an  indication  of  the  course  that  will 
be  pursued  by  them.  While  the  political  religionist 
can  see  in  present  movements  the  prelude  of  a  mighty 
revolution,  we  believe  it  to  be  the  same  that  students 
of  prophecy  have  for  years  been  led  by  the  word  of 
God  to  expect.  The  Index  says  : — 

"Nothing  could  be  more  apparent  to  one  who  intelligently  fol 
lowed  the  argument  from  its  own  premises,  than  that  this  move 
ment  expresses  at  once  the  moral  and  the  political  necessities  of 
Christianity  in  this  country.  It  is  not  a  question  of  words,  but 
rather  a  question  of  the  vital  interests  of  great  institutions.  Chris 
tianity  must  either  relinquish  its  present  hold  on  the  government, 
— its  Sunday  laws,  its  blasphemy  laws,  its  thanksgivings  and  fasts, 
its  chaplaincies,  its  Bible  in  schools,  etc., — or  else  it  must  secure 
the  necessary  condition  of  retaining  all  these  things  by  inserting 
some  guarantee  of  their  perpetuity  in  the  national  Constitution. 
Looking  simply  at  the  small  present  dimensions  of  the  movement, 
— at  the  fewness  of  its  devoted  workers,  the  paucity  of  attendants 
at  the  late  Convention,  and  the  indifference  of  the  public  at  large, 
— one  is  justified  in  dismissing  it  from  consideration  as  of  no  im 


200  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

mediate  importance.  But  whoever  is  qualified  to  detect  great 
movements  in  their  germs,  and  to  perceive  that  instituted  Chris 
tianity  is  in  vast  peril  from  the  constant  inroads  of  rapidly  spead- 
ing  disbelief  of  dogmatic  Christianity,— -whoever  is  able  to  discern 
the  certainty  that  the  claims  of  Christianity  to  mold  political  ac 
tion  in  its  own  interest  must  sooner  or  later  be  submitted  for  ad 
judication  to  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  by  which  they  are  not 
even  verbally  recognized, — will  not  fall  into  the  superficiality  of 
inferring  the  future  fortunes  of  this  movement,  either  from  the 
mediaeval  character  of  its  pretensions  or  the  present  insignificance 
of  its  success.  It  may  possibly  be  that  the  Christian  churches  do 
not  really  care  for  their  own  existence,  and  are  prepared  to  sur 
render  it  without  a  struggle,  but  we  do  not  so  read  history.  So 
soon  as  they  come  to  comprehend  fully  the  fact  that  their  legal 
'Sabbath/  their  Bible  in  schools,  and  all  their  present  legal  priv 
ileges,  must  one  by  one  slip  away  inevitably  from  their  grasp,  un 
less  they  defend  them  in  the  only  possible  way,  by  grounding  them 
on  Constitutional  guarantees,  it  seems  to  us  an  irresistible  conclu 
sion  from  history  and  experience  that  they  will  arouse  themselves 
to  protect  these  possessions  as  infinitely  important.  If  they  do 
not,  they  have  achieved  a  degree  of  moral  rottenness,  cowardice, 
and  hypocrisy  which  we  are  very  slow  to  attribute  to  them.  These 
champions  of  a  Christianized  Constitution  are  to-day  the  POLITICAL 
BRAIN  of  the  Christian  Church.  Conceding  their  premises,  which 
are  simply  those  of  the  universal  Evangelical  communion,  it  is  im 
possible  to  deny  their  conclusions.  It  is  these  premises  that  we 
dispute,  not  the  logicalness  of  the  conclusions  themselves  ;  and 
although  we  hold  that  the  same  premises,  if  further  carried  out, 
must  lead  to  the  Roman  Catholic  position  expressed  by  the  Vati 
can  decrees,  we  none  the  less  admit  the  necessity  of  traveling  that 
road  from  the  starting-point,  if  it  is  once  fairly  entered  upon. 
Hence  we  are  as  strongly  convinced  as  ever  that  the  Christian- 
Amendment  movement  contains  the  germ  of  a  demand  that  must 
sooner  or  later  be  heard  asserted  with  perilous  emphasis,  by  the 
body  of  orthodox  Christian  Churches." 

The  character  of  this  movement  is  thus  described 
by  one  who  was  an  eye-witness  at  the  Pittsburg  Con 
vention  : — 

"They  show  determination  to  make  the  movement  popular,  and 


INDICATIONS   OP  COMING    CHANGES.         201 

to  reach  the  feelings  of  the  people  by  every  means.  In  their 
speeches,  they  alternate  with  the  most  impassioned  earnestness 
and  gravest  argument  the  sharpest  wit,  and  even  laughable  puns 
and  incidents.  Staid  '  Reverends '  clap  their  hands  in  applause  as 
heartily  as  I  ever  saw  done  in  any  kind  of  gathering,  and  Old- 
School  Presbyterian  Doctors  of  Divinity,  who  have  generally  been 
noted  for  clerical  dignity,  take  the  greatest  delight  in  raising  the 
cheers  of  the  crowd  by  their  keen  thrusts  and  witticisms.  The 
Commercial  was  publicly  recommended  as  giving  the  official  report, 
and  of  the  speech  of  the  President  of  Washington  and  Jefferson 
College  it  said,  '  Dr.  Hay's  address  was  received  with  frequent 
marks  of  approbation,  and  his  witty  points  drew  forth  shouts  of 
laughter/  Judging  from  what  I  have  seen,  the  standard  of  piety 
is  not  to  be  elevated  by  this  work." — /.  //.  W.,  in  Review  of  Feb. 
17,  1874. 

Between  the  professions  of  this  Association,  and 
the  objects  which  they  are  openly  laboring  to  obtain, 
there  is  an  utter  inconsistency,  as  the  following  con 
siderations  wrill  show.  In  the  Review  of  March  24, 
1874,  the  writer  last  quoted  says  : — 

"We  are  sometimes  perplexed  to  account  for  the  singular  op 
erations  of  the  human  mind.  When  we  see  men  of  good  natural 
ability  and  of  superior  privileges  of  mental  and  moral  culture, 
persistently  clinging  to  the  weaker  side  in  argument,  and  seeming 
able  to  discover  light  only  on  the  darkest  side  of  a  proposition,  or 
endeavoring  to  sustain  themselves  by  taking  contradictory  posi 
tions,  our  charity  is  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  give  them  credit  for 
the  ability  they  seem  to  possess  and  for  the  integrity  of  purpose 
they  claim.  Seldom  have  our  reflections  been  more  forcibly  turned 
in  this  direction  than  in  viewing  the  course  pursued  by  the  advo 
cates  of  the  Religious  Amendment.  A  late  number  of  the  Chris 
tian  Statesman,  speaking  of  the  Seventh-day  Adventists,  says  : — 

"  'From  the  beginning  of  the  National  Reform  Movement,  they 
have  regarded  it  as  the  first  step  toward  the  persecution  which 
they,  as  keepers  of  the  seventh  day,  will  endure  when  our  Sab 
bath  laws  are  revived  and  enforced.  One  can  but  smile  at  their 
apprehensions  of  the  success  of  a  movement  which  would  not 
harm  a  hair  of  their  heads  ;  but  their  fears  are  sincere  enough,  for 
all  that.'" 


202  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

Pursuing  the  line  of  argument  into  a  consideration 
of  the  question  whether  there  is  anything  in  the  pro 
fessions  of  the  Amendment  party  calculated  to  change 
our  opinion  in  this  respect,  he  continues  : — 

"If  a  profession  of  good  motives  and  of  a  desire  to  steer  clear 
of  a  union  of  Church  and  State  on  the  part  of  the  Amendment 
party  could  give  us  assurance  on  this  point,  then  might  we  cease 
to  notice  this  subject.  On  this  point  they  are  very  explicit.  A 
few  quotations  will  suffice  to  present  their  claims.  Said  Hon.  Mr. 
Patterson,  in  the  Pittsburg  Convention  : — 

"'Be  not  misled  by  the  assertion  that  the  movement  agitated  by 
this  Convention  tends  to  religious  intolerance,  to  wedding  Church 
and  State.  No  such  tendency  exists.  On  the  contrary,  this  move 
ment  claims  nothing  but  to  secure  in  the  preamble  of  our  national 
Constitution  an  acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy  of  God  and  the 
Christian  character  of  our  nation,  such  as  is  now  generally  and 
authoritatively  conceded  to  be  the  law  of  our  land/ 

"  This,  surely,  is  lamb-like  enough  to  throw  us  all  off  our  guard. 
The  following  remarks  by  President  Brunot  (pronounced  Bruno) 
on  taking  the  chair,  are  equally  innocent  to  view  : — 

"  'The  fourth  article  of  the  Constitution  declares  that  "no  re 
ligious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  United  States,"  and  the  first  amendment  in 
the  Constitution  provides  that  "Congress  shall  make  no  law  re 
specting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  ex 
ercise  thereof."  We  have  not  proposed  to  change  these.  "We 
deem  them  essential,  in  connection  with  the  amendment  we  ask, 
to  the  preservation  of  religious  liberty,  and  with  it,  an  effective 
guard  against  a  union  of  Church  and  State.' 

"And  again  :  'The  attempt  to  destroy  the  inalienable  right  of 
freedom  of  conscience  in  religion  in  this,  our  favored  land,  would 
meet  with  its  very  first  organized  resistance  from  this  Association/ 

"And  Dr.  Kerr  said  : — 

"  'We  want  no  union  of  Church  and  State.  Let  that  question 
be  raised  in  this  country,  and  there  is  no  element  of  the  opposi 
tion  that  would  rise  against  it  that  would  be  more  decided  and  de 
termined  than  that  represented  in  this  Convention.  We  wish  no 
restraint  of  the  rightful  liberties  of  any  man/ 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.        203 

"These  utterances  are  pleasant  to  read,  and  doubtless  they,  and 
others  like  them,  have  had  much  to  do  in  enlisting  so  strong  an 
interest  in  favor  of  the  amendment.  And  were  these  sayings,  or 
those  of  like  nature,  all  that  they  had  put  forth,  we  should  feel 
constrained  to  regard  the  men  and  their  work  in  a  light  somewhat 
different  from  that  in  which  we  now  view  them. 

"We  come  now  to  examine  another  class  of  expressions,  of  a 
positive  nature.  What  we  have  quoted  is  negative, — a  disclaimer, 
a  relation  of  what  they  do  not  wish  to  do.  Very  explicitly  have 
they  stated  their  desires  and  intentions.  True,  we  cannot  recon 
cile  what  they  have  said  under  these  two  heads,  and  it  is  this 
which  so  perplexes  us  in  regard  to  their  professions.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  they  will  sometime  attempt  to  show  that  their  state 
ments  may  be  harmonized,  or  else  confine  their  avowals  to  one 
side  of  the  question,  that  all  may  understand,  without  study  or 
doubt,  just  the  position  they  occupy. 

"Dr.  Stevenson,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  National  Asso 
ciation,  and  editor  of  the  Statesman,  in  the  opening  address  at  the 
Convention,  said  : — 

"  'Through  the  immense  largesses  it  receives  from  corrupt  poli 
ticians,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is,  practically,  the  established 
church  of  the  city  of  New  York.  These  favors  are  granted  under 
the  guise  of  a  seeming  friendliness  to  religion.  We  propose  to  put 
the  substance  for  the  shadow, — to  drive  out  the  counterfeit  by  the 
completer  substitution  of  the  true.' 

"These  words  are  somewhat  ambiguous,  but  none  the  less  im 
portant,  on  this  subject ;  for,  taken  in  any  possible  way,  they  are 
full  of  meaning.  It  may  be  a  question  whether  this  '  seeming 
friendliness  to  religion '  is  the  shadow,  and  real  friendliness  to  re 
ligion  in  politics  is  the  substance,  or  whether  the  Catholic  Church 
is  the  counterfeit  and  Protestantism  the  true  ;  but  in  either  case 
the  establishment  of  the  Church,  or  a  Church,  or  Churches,  more 
completely  than  at  present  established,  though  they  are  practically 
existing  now,  is  the  object  aimed  at  in  this  paragraph.  The  latter 
form,  the  establishment  of  the  Churches,  appears  to  be  the  object ; 
for  in  the  next  sentence  he  says  : — 

" '  What  we  propose  is  nothing  of  a  sectarian  character.  It  will 
give  no  branch  of  American  Christians  any  advantage  over  any 
other.' 

"  A  remark  made  by  Prof.  Blanchard  is  a  complement  to  the 


204  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

above.  He  has  given  us  a  definition  of  '  union  of  Church  and 
State '  as  opposed  by  them.  Thus  he  said  : — 

"  'But  union  of  Church  and  State  is  the  selection  by  the  nation 
of  one  Church,  the  endowment  of  such  a  Church,  the  appointment 
of  its  officers,  and  the  oversight  of  its  doctrines.  For  such  a  union 
none  of  us  plead.  To  such  a  union  we  are  all  of  us  opposed.' 

"In  reading  this,  we  are  reminded  of  the  turn  taken  by  the  Spir 
itualists,  when  they  deny  that  they  are  opposed  to  marriage  ;  they 
explain  by  defining  marriage  to  be  a  union  of  two  persons  not  to 
be  regulated  nor  guarded  by  civil  law,  which  exists  only  as  long 
as  the  parties  are  agreed  thereto,  requiring  no  law  to  effect  a  di 
vorce  !  To  such  marriage  the  most  lawless  libertine  would  not 
object.  We  are  sorry  that  the  respectable  advocates  of  the  amend 
ment  take  a  position  so  nearly  parallel  to  the  above-cited  position 
of  Spiritualists.  They  give  a  definition  of  union  of  Church  and 
State  such  as  no  one  expects  nor  fears, — such,  in  fact,  as  is  not 
possible  in  the  existing  state  of  the  Churches, — and  then  loudly 
proclaim  that  they  are  opposed  to  union  of  Church  and  State  ! 
But  to  a  union  of  Church  and  State  in  the  popular  sense  of  the 
phrase  ;  a  union,  not  of  one  Church,  but  of  all  the  Churches  rec 
ognized  as  orthodox,  or  evangelical ;  a  union  not  giving  the  State 
power  to  elect  Church  officers,  nor  to  take  the  oversight  of  Church 
doctrines,  but  giving  the  Churches  the  privilege  of  enforcing  by 
civil  law  the  laws,  institutions,  and  usages  of  religion  according  to 
the  faith  of  the  Churches,  or  to  the  construction  put  upon  those 
institutions  and  usages  by  the  churches, — to  such  a  union,  we  say, 
they  are  not  opposed.  They  are  essentially  and  practically,  despite 
their  professions,  open  advocates  of  union  of  Church  and  State. 

"President  Brunot  and  others  have  referred  to  the  first  amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution  as  a  safeguard  against  establishing  a  na 
tional  religion.  Yet  in  the  face  of  this  reference  he  says: — 

"  'We  propose  "such  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  (or  its  preamble)  as  will  suitably  acknowledge  Al 
mighty  God  as  the  author  of  the  nation's  existence  and  the  ulti 
mate  source  of  its  authority,  Jesus  Christ  as  its  ruler,  and  the  Bi 
ble  as  the  supreme  rule  of  its  conduct,"  and  thus  indicate  that  this 
is  a  Christian  nation,  and  place  all  Christian  laws,  institutions,  and 
usages  on  an  undeniable  legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
land.' 

"Now  the  question  arises,  If  all  this  were  accomplished,  would 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING   CHANGES.          205 

the  Christian  religion  be  established  in  and  by  this  government  ? 
If  it  be  answered  that  it  would  not,  then  another  question,  Would 
individuals  be  at  liberty  under  the  law  of  the  land  to  disregard 
those  Christian  institutions  and  usages  ?  If  not,  if  both  of  these 
questions  be  answered  in  the  negative,  then  what  would  be  the  ex 
isting  state  of  things  ?  Could  it  be  denned  ? 

"  This  will  never  do  ;  such  talk  is  idle.  To  place  Christian 
usages  on  a  legal  basis  is  to  enforce  them  by  law,  and  to  enforce 
them  is  to  '  establish '  them.  When  they  are  placed  on  an  '  unde 
niable  legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land/  they  are 
fully  established,  and  to  deny  this  is  only  to  trifle  with  language. 
But  again,  you  cannot  distinguish  between  '  all  Christian  laws,  in 
stitutions,  and  usages,'  and  the  Christian  religion.*  By  establish 
ing  them,  you  establish  it,  of  necessity.  To  deny  this  is  to  mani 
fest  a  lack  of  discrimination  or  of  candor.  We  speak  with  due 
respect,  but  we  have  to  deal  with  facts  of  the  greatest  magnitude 
and  importance,  and  which  affect  us  in  those  things  which  we 
hold  most  sacred  and  dear.  The  advocates  of  this  movement  are 
able  men.  We  hope  they  will  not  ignore  these  points,  but  so  ex 
plain  them  as  to  reconcile  themselves  with  themselves,  if  it  can  be 
done." 

The  New  York  Independent,  in  January,  1875, 
showed  up  the  inconsistency  of  this  movement  in  a 
few  paragraphs  so  pointed  and  pungent  that  we  quote 
them  entire,  as  follows  :— 

"This  being  a  Christian  nation,  we  have  a  right  to  acknowledge 
God  in  the  Constitution  ;  because,  as  things  are  now,  this  is  not  a 
Christian  nation,  and  needs  such  recognition  to  make  it  one. 

"This  having  always  been  a  Christian  nation,  we  have  a  right 
to  keep  it  such  ;  and  therefore  we  need  this  amendment,  since 
hitherto,  without  it,  we  have  only  been  a  heathen  nation. 

"In  other  words,  we  need  to  make  this  a  Christian  nation,  be 
cause  we  are  already  such,  on  the  ground  that  if  we  do  not  make 
it  such,  we  are  not  a  Christian  nation. 

"Because  the  people  are  substantially  all  Christians,  we  have  a 
right,  and  have  need,  to  make  the  Constitution  Christian,  to  check 
our  powerful  element  of  unbelievers. 

"We  mean  to  interfere  with  no  man's  rights,  but  only  to  get 
certain  rights,  now  belonging  to  all,  restricted  to  Christians,, 


206  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"This  religious  amendment  is  to  have  no  practical  effect,  its  ob 
ject  being  to  check  infidelity. 

"It  is  to  interfere  with  no  man's  rights,  but  only  to  make  the 
unbeliever  concede  to  Christians  the  right  to  rule  in  their  interest, 
and  to  give  up  like  claims  for  himself. 

"It  is  meant  to  have  no  practical  effect,  and  therefore  will  be 
of  great  use  to  us. 

"We  want  to  recognize  God,  and  Christianity  as  our  national 
duty  to  Deity,  but  intend  to  give  no  effect  to  such  recognition, 
pleasing  God  by  judicially  voting  ourselves  pious,  and  doing  noth 
ing  more. 

"We  shall  leave  all  religions  in  equality  before  the  law,  and 
make  Christianity  the  adopted  religion  of  the  nation. 

"Christianity,  being  justice,  requires  us  to  put  down  infidelity 
by  taking  advantage  of  our  numbers  to  secure  rights  which  we  do 
not  allow  to  others. 

"Justice  to  Christians  is  one  thing,  and  to  infidels  another. 

"We  being  a  Christian  people,  the  Jewish  and  unbelieving  por 
tion  of  our  people  are  not,  of  right,  part  of  the  people.- 

"And  so,  having  no  rights  which  we,  as  Christians,  are  bound 
to  respect,  we  must  adopt  this  amendment  in  our  interest. 

"Passing  this  act  will  not  make  any  to  be  Christians  who  are 
not  Christians  ;  but  it  is  needed  to  make  this  a  more  Christian  na 
tion. 

"The  people  are  not  to  be  made  more  Christian  by  it ;  but,  since 
the  nation  cannot  be  Christian  unless  the  people  are,  it  is  meant 
to  make  the  nation  Christian  without  affecting  the  people. 

"That  is,  the  object  of  this  amendment  is  to  make  the  nation 
Christian  without  making  the  people  Christians. 

"By  putting  God  in  the  Constitution  he  will  be  recognized  by 
nobody  else  than  those  who  already  recognize  him  ;  and  therefore 
we  need  this  amendment  for  a  fuller  recognition  of  him. 

"If  we  say  we  believe  in  God  and  Christ  in  the  Constitution,  it 
is  true  of  those  believing  in  him  and  a  lie  as  to  the  rest ;  and  as 
the  first  class  already  recognize  him,  we  want  this  amendment  as 
a  recognition  by  the  latter  class,  so  that  our  whole  people  shall 
recognize  him. 

"Whether  we  have  an  acknowledgment  of  God  in  the  Constitu 
tion  or  not,  we  are  a  Christian  nation  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  this 
recognition  of  God  that  is  to  make  us  a  Christian,  nation," 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING   CHANGES.        20Y 

As  to  the  probability  of  the  success  of  this  move 
ment,  there  is  at  present  some  difference  of  opinion. 
While  a  very  few  pass  it  by  with  a  slur  as  a  mere 
temporary  sensation  of  little  or  no  consequence,  it  is 
generally  regarded,  both  by  its  advocates  and  its  op- 
posers,  as  a  work  of  growing  strength  and  importance. 
Petitions  and  remonstrances  are  both  being  circulated 
with  activity ;  and  shrewd  observers,  who  have  watched 
the  movement  with  a  jealous  eye,  and  therefore  hoped 
it  would  amount  to  nothing,  now  confess  that  it 
"  means  business."  No  movement  of  equal  magnitude 
of  purpose  has  ever  sprung  up  and  become  strong, 
and  secured  favor  so  rapidly  as  this.  Indeed,  none 
of  equal  magnitude  has  ever  been  sprung  upon  the 
American  mind,  as  this  aims  to  remodel  the  whole 
frame-work  of  our  government,  and  give  to  it  a  strong 
religious  caste, — a  thing  which  the  framers  of  our 
Constitution  were  careful  to  exclude  from  it.  They 
not  only  ask  that  the  Bible,  and  God,  and  Christ  shall 
be  recognized  in  the  Constitution,  but  that  it  shall  in 
dicate  this  as  "  a  Christian  nation,  and  place  all  Chris 
tian  laws,  institutions,  and  usages  in  our  government 
on  an  undeniable  legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  nation." 

Of  course,  appropriate  legislation  will  be  required 
to  carry  such  amendments  into  effect,  and  somebody 
will  have  to  decide  what  are  "  Christian  laws  and  in 
stitutions."  And  when  this  question  is  raised,  who 
will  be  appealed  to  as  qualified  to  determine  the  mat 
ter  in  question  ? — The  doctors  of  religion,  of  course. 
Then  what  shall  we  have  ? — The  Church  sitting  in 
judgment  on  men's  religious  opinions,  the  Church 
defining  heresy,  and  the  State  waiting  at  its  beck  to 
carry  out  whatever  sentence  shall  be  affixed  to  a  de- 


208  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATION'S. 

viation  from  what  the  Church  shall  declare  to  be 
"  Christian  laws  and  institutions."  But  was  not  this 
exactly  the  situation  in  the  darkest  reign  of  Roman 
Catholicism  ?  And  would  not  its  production  here  be 
a  very  "  image  to  the  beast"  ? — Yea,  verily.  But  this 
is  the  inevitable  sequence  of  the  success  of  this  effort 
to  secure  a  religious  amendment  of  the  Constitution. 
From  what  we  learn  of  such  movements  in  the  past 
in  other  countries,  and  of  the  temper  of  the  churches 
of  this  country,  and  of  human  nature  when  it  has 
power  suddenly  conferred  upon  it,  we  look  for  no 
good  from  this  movement.  From  a  lengthy  article 
in  the  Lansing  (Michigan)  State  Republican  in  refer 
ence  to  the  Cincinnati  Convention,  we  take  the  fol 
lowing  extract  :— 

"Now  there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  moral  and  profess 
edly  Christian  people  in  this  nation  to-day  who  do  not  recognize 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, — do  not  recognize  Jesus  Christ  the 
same  as  God.  And  there  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  and 
women  who  do  not  recognize  the  Bible  as  the  revelation  of  God. 
The  attempt  to  make  any  such  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
would  be  regarded  by  a  large  minority,  perhaps  a  majority,  of  our 
nation  as  8  palpable  violation  of  liberty  of  conscience.  Thousands 
of  men,  if  called  upon  to  vote  for  such  an  amendment,  would  hes 
itate  to  vote  against  God,  although  they  might  not  believe  that  the 
amendment  is  necessary  or  that  it  is  right ;  and  such  men  would 
either  vote  affirmatively  or  not  at  all.  In  every  case,  such  an 
amendment  would  be  likely  to  receive  an  affirmative  vote  which 
would  by  no  means  indicate  the  true  sentiment  of  the  people. 
And  the  same  rule  would  hold  good  in  relation  to  the  adoption  of 
such  an  amendment  by  Congress  or  by  the  Legislatures  of  three- 
quarters  of  the  States.  Men  who  make  politics  a  trade  would  hes 
itate  to  record  their  names  against  the  proposed  Constitutional 
Amendment,  advocated  by  the  leaders  of  the  great  religious  de 
nominations  of  the  land,  and  indorsed  by  such  men  as  Bishop  Simp 
son,  Bishop  Mcllvaine,  Bishop  Eastburn,  President  Finney,  Prof. 
Lewis,  Prof  Seelye,  Bishop  Huutington,  Bishop  Kerfoot,  Dr.  Pat- 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING   CHANGES.         209 

terson,  Dr.  Cuyler,  and  many  other  divines  who  are  the  represent 
ative  men  of  their  respective  denominations." 

Not  only  the  representative  men  of  the  churches 
are  pledged  to  this  movement,  but  governors,  judges, 
and  many  who  are  among  the  most  eminent  men  of 
the  land  in  other  directions,  are  working  for  it.  Who 
doubts  the  power  of  the  "representative  men  of  the 
denominations"  to  rally  the  strength  of  their  denom 
inations  to  sustain  this  work  at  their  call  ?  We  utter 
no  prophecy  of  the  future  ;  it  is  not  needed.  Events 
transpire  in  these  clays  faster  than  our  minds  are  pre 
pared  to  grasp  them.  Let  us  heed  the  admonition  to 
''watch!"  and  with  reliance  upon  God,  prepare  for 
"  those  things  which  arc  coming  on  the  earth." 

But  it  may  be  asked  how  the  Sunday  question  is  to 
be  affected  by  the  proposed  Constitutional  Amend 
ment.  Answer  :  The  object,  or  to  say  the  least,  one 
object,  of  this  amendment,  is  to  put  the  Sunday  insti 
tution  on  a  legal  basis,  and  compel  its  observance  by 
the  arm  of  the  law.  At  the  National  Convention  held 
in  Philadelphia,  Jan.  IS  and  19,  1871,  the  following 
resolution  was  among  the  first  offered  by  the  Business 
Committee  : — 

"Resolved,  That,  in  view  of  the  controlling  power  of  the  Consti 
tution  in  shaping  State  as  well  as  national  policy,  it  is  of  immedi 
ate  importance  to  public  morals  and  to  social  order,  to  secure  such 
an  amendment  as  will  indicate  that  this  is  a  Christian  nation,  and 
place  all  Christian  laws,  institutions,  and  usages  in  our  govern 
ment  on  an  undeniable  legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
nation,  specially  those  which  secure  a  proper  oath,  and  which  pro 
tect  society  against  blasphemy,  Sabbath-breaking,  and  polygamy." 

By  Sabbath-breaking  is  meant  nothing  else  but 
Sunday-breaking.  In  a  convention  of  the  friends  of 
Sunday,  assembled  Nov.  29,  1870,  in  New  Concord, 
Ohio,  the  Rev.  James  White  is  reported  to  have  said  : — 

14 


210  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"The  question  [of  Sunday  observance]  is  closely  connected  with 
the  National  Reform  Movement ;  for  until  the  government  comes 
to  know  God  and  honor  his  law,  we  need  not  expect  to  restrain 
Sabbath-breaking  corporations/' 

Here  again  the  idea  of  the  legal  enforcement  of 
Sunday  observance  stands  uppermost. 

Once  more  :  The  Philadelphia  Press,  of  Dec.  5, 
1870,  stated  that  some  Congressmen,  including  Vice- 
President  Colfax,  arrived  in  Washington  by  Sunday 
trains,  Dec.  4,  on  which  the  Christian  Statesman  com 
mented  as  follows  (we  give  italics  as  we  find  them)  :— 

"  1.  Not  one  of  those  men  who  thus  violated  the  Sabbath  is  jit  to  Jiold 
any  official  position  in  a  Christian  nation.  *  *  *  * 

"He  who  violates  the  Sabbath  may  not  steal,  because  the  judg 
ment  of  society  so  strongly  condemns  theft,  or  because  he  believes 
that  honesty  is  the  best  policy  ;  but  tempt  him  with  the  prospect 
of  concealment  or  the  prospect  of  advantage,  and  there  can  be  no 
reason  why  he  who  robs  God  will  not  rob  his  neighbor  also.  For 
this  reason,  the  Sabbath  law  lies  at  the  foundation  of  morality. 
Its  observance  is  an  acknowledgment  of  the  sovereign  rights  of 
God  'over  us. 

"2.  The  sin  of  these  Congressmen  is  a  national  sin,  because  the 
nation  hath  not  said  to  them  in  the  Constitution,  the  supreme  rule 
for  our  public  servants,  '  We  charge  you  to  serve  us  in  accordance 
with  the  higher  law  of  God.'  These  Sabbath-breaking  railroads, 
moreover,  are  corporations  created  by  the  State,  and  amenable  to 
it.  The  State  is  responsible  to  God  for  the  conduct  of  these  creat 
ures  which  it  calls  into  being.  It  is  bound^  therefore,  to  restrain 
them  from  this  as  from  other  crimes,  and  any  violation  of  the  Sab 
bath  by  any  corporation,  should  work  immediate  forfeiture  of  its 
charter.  And  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  which 
all  State  legislation  is  required  to  be  in  harmony,  should  be  of 
such  a  character  as  to  prevent  any  State  from  tolerating  such  in 
fractions  of  fundamental  moral  law. 

"3.  Give  us  in  the  national  Constitution  the  simple  acknowl 
edgment  of  the  law  of  God  as  the  supreme  law  of  nations,  and  all 
the  results  indicated  in  this  note  will  ultimately  be  secured.  Let  no  one 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING  CHANGES.          211 

say  that  the  movement  does  not  contemplate  sufficiently  practical 
ends." 

Let  the  full  import  of  these  words  be  carefully  con 
sidered.  The  writer  was  by  some  unaccountable  im 
pulse  betrayed  into  a  revelation  of  the  real  policy  and 
aim  of  this  movement.  He  holds  up  to  the  public 
view  those  Congressmen  who  traveled  on  Sunday,  as 
men  who  would  rob  and  steal  if  they  saw  an  oppor 
tunity  to  do  so  without  danger  of  detection  !  Not 
one  of  them,  he  says,  is  fit  to  hold  any  office  in  the 
government.  He  would  make  this  religious  test  a 
qualification  for  office,  contrary  to  the  Constitution. 
Every  corporation  that  infringes  upon  Sunday  should 
be  immediately  destroyed  by  a  forfeiture  of  its  char 
ter.  And  what  then  of  the  individual,  in  this  respect, 
who  does  not  observe  the  Sunday  ?  Of  course  he 
could  fare  no  better  than  the  corporations, — he  must 
be  at  once  suspended  from  business.  What  does  the 
prophecy  say  the  enactment  will  be  ? — "That  no  man 
might  buy  or  sell  save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the 
name,  of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of  his  name."  Could 
there  be  a  more  direct  fulfillment  than  this  would  be 
if  once  carried  out,  as  the  religious  amendmentists  are 
trying  to  do  ? 

From  all  this  we  see  the  important  place  the  Sab 
bath  question  is  to  hold  in  this  movement, — the  im 
portant  place  it  even  now  holds  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  are  urging  it  forward.  Let  the  amendment  called 
for  be  granted,  "  and  all  the  results  indicated  in  this 
note,"  says  the  writer,  "  will  ultimately  be  secured  ;" 
that  is,  individuals  and  corporations  will  be  restrained 
from  violating  the  Sunday  observance.  The  acknowl 
edgment  of  God  in  the  Constitution  may  do  very  well 
as  a  banner  under  which  to  sail ;  but  the  practical 


212  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

bearing  of  the  movement  relates  to  the  compulsory 
observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week. 

An  article  in  the  Christian  at  Work  of  April  20, 
1882,  spoke  of  a  proposed  plan  to  induce  railroad  cor 
porations  and  the  leading  industries  of  the  country 
to  suspend  business  on  Sunday.  The  writer  thought 
the  plan  would  fail,  because  it  did  not  have  "  the  force 
of  a  penalty,"  and  said  :— 

"There  is  need  of  the  power  of  government  behind  the  plan, — 
the  strength  of  the  national  government  in  support  of  the  rule  ; 
for  the  great  business  corporations  of  the  country  have  risen  above, 
and  reach  beyond,  the  authority  of  a  Commonwealth.  And  not 
till  the  people  have  made  the  Federal  Government  the  escutcheon 
of  the  Sabbath  [Sunday],  may  we  expect  the  rival  industries  to 
honor  that  sacred  day." 

And  while  this  writer  thus  sturdily  called  for  law, 
he  believed  that  if  the  Church  "  insisted  on  her  rights" 
as  loudly  as  the  "infidel  resisted  them,"  they  could 
be  easily  secured. 

Even  now  the  question  is  agitated  why  the  Jew 
should  be  allowed  to  follow  his  business  on  the  first 
day,  after  having  observed  the  seventh.  The  same 
question  is  equally  pertinent  to  all  seventh-day  keep 
ers.  A  writer  signing  himself  "American,"  in  the 
Boston  Herald  rf  Dec.  14,  1871,  said  :— 

"The  President  in  his  late  message,  in  speaking  of  the  Mormon 
question,  says,  'They  shall  no't  be  permitted  to  break  the  law  un 
der  the  cloak  of  religion.'  This  undoubtedly  meets  the  approval 
of  every  American  citizen,  and  I  wish  to  cite  a  parallel  case,  and 
ask,  Why  should  the  Jews  of  this  country  be  allowed  to  keep  open 
their  stores  on  the  Sabbath,  under  the  cloak  of  their  religion,  while 
I,  or  any  other  true  American,  will  be  arrested  and  suffer  punish 
ment  for  doing  the  same  thing  ?  If  there  is  a  provision  made  al 
lowing  a  few  to  conduct  business  on  the  Sabbath,  what  justice  and 
equality  can  there  be  in  any  such  provision,  and  why  should  it  not 
be  stopped  at  once  ?  " 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    GUANOES.         213 

And  this  question,  we  apprehend,  will  be  very  sum 
marily  decided,  adversely  to  the  Jew  and  every  other 
seventh-day  observer,  when  once  the  Constitutional 
Amendment  has  been  secured. 

At  a  Ministerial  Association  of  the  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  held  in  Healdsburg,  Cal.,  April  26-28, 
1870,  Rev.  Mr.  Trefrcn,  of  Napa,  speaking  of  S.  D.  A. 
ministers,  said,  "  I  predict  for  them  a  short  race. 
What  we  want  is  law  in  the  matter."  Then,  referring 
to  the  present  movement  to  secure  such  a  law,  he 
added  :  "  And  we  will  have  it,  too  ;  and  when  we  get 
the  power  into  our  hands,  we  will  show  these  men 
what  their  end  will  be." 

In  1876  the  question  was  raised  in  Keokuk,  Iowa, 
"  whether  a  Seventh-day  Adventist  could  be  com 
pelled  to  attend  court  as  a  witness  on  Saturday;" 
and  Judge  Blanchard  decided  that  he  could  be,  and 
that  "  a  refusal  would  be  contempt  of  court." 

The  Signs  of  the  Times,  of  Oakland,  Cal.,  in  its  is 
sue  of  Dec.  22,  1881,  said  :— 

"After  a  sermon  recently  preached  by  an  Oakland  D.  D.,  in  favor 
of  enforcing  the  Sunday  law,  some  of  the  members  of  the  congre 
gation  were  heard  giving  utterance  to  strong  commendations  of 
the  sermon  and  of  the  law.  Said  one,  '  I  am  glad  the  Seventh-day 
Adventists  will  have  to  come  to  time.'" 

This  feeling  is  not  confined  to  the  Pacific  States. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Review  and  Herald,  Battle 
Creek,  Mich.,  writing  from  Illinois  in  1883,  said  : — 

"A  short  time  ago,  at  the  dedication  of  a  certain  church,  I  heard 
a  minister — who  is  also  president  of  one  of  the  leading  colleges  in 
our  State,  and  of  enough  importance  to  have  D.  D.  to  his  name — 
say  that  he  was  glad  that  the  sectarian  walls  are  being  thrown 
down,  and  that  people  are  becoming  more  liberal.  'Yes,'  says  he, 
'  I  thank  God  for  a  Roman  Catholic  Church  ;  for  there  is  no  relig 
ious  body  that  is  any  more  zealous  in  trying  to  establish  a  law  for 


214  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

the  protection  of  the  Sabbath  [Sunday]/  Another  minister,  where 
I  was  holding  meetings  a  few  weeks  since,  in  a  sermon  against  us, 
said  :  '  You  Americans  all  have  great  respect  for  Noah  Webster  ; 
there  is  not  one  of  you  but  what  considers  him  absolutely  infallible  ; 
and  if  you  will  look  in  his  dictionary  at  the  word  Sunday,  you  will 
find  that  he  says  that  it  is  the  Christian  Sabbath.  It  is  true  that  be 
fore  Christ,  the  Jewish  people  kept  the  seventh  day  ;  but  s-'mce 
Christ  the  lines  of  longitude  and  latitude  have  been  such  that  it  is 
impossible  to  keep  it.  And  furthermore,  the  custom  of  our  coun 
try  makes  it  obligatory  upon  us  to  observe  Sunday  sacredly.  But 
these  miserable  Adventists  come  around  in  the  face  of  all  this,  and 
tell  us  that  we  must  keep  the  old  Jewish  Sabbath.  They  are  a  set 
of  ABOMINABLE  TRAITORS,  who  are  trying  to  produce  dissension  in 
our  land,  and  OPPOSE  the  laws  of  our  country  ;  the  place  for  EV 
ERY  ONE  of  them  is  in  our  State  prisons,  and  what  we  want  is  a 
LAW  that  will  put  them  there  ;  and,  thank  God,  the  time  is  not  far 
distant  when  we  will  have  it.'" 

There  are  abundant  indications  that  this  pious  feel 
ing  largely  prevails  in  many  sections  of  our  country. 

From  a  work  recently  issued  by  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  entitled  "The.  Sabbath,"  by 
Chas.  Elliott,  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Ex 
egesis  in  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of 
the  Northwest,  Chicago,  111.,  we  take  the  following 
paragraph  : — 

"But  it  may  be  asked,  Would  not  the  Jew  be  denied  equality  of 
rights  by  legislation  protecting  the  Christian  Sabbath  and  ignoring 
the  Jewish  ?  The  answer  is,  We  are  not  a  Jewish,  but  a  Christian 
nation  ;  therefore  our  legislation  must  be  conformed  to  the  insti 
tutions  and  spirit  of  Christianity.  This  is  absolutely  necessary 
from  the  nature  of  the  case." 

There  is  no  mistaking  the  import  of  this  language. 
No  matter  if  the  Jew  does  not  secure  equal  rights 
with  others.  We  are  not  a  Jewish  nation,  but  a 
Christian  ;  and  all  must  be  made  to  conform  to  what 
the  majority  decide  to  be  Christian  institutions.  This 
affects  all  who  observe  the  seventh  day  as  much  as  it 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.         215 

does  the  Jews  ;  and  we  apprehend  it  will  not  be  a  dif 
ficult  matter  to  lead  the  masses,  whose  prejudices  in 
cline  them  in  this  direction,  to  believe  that  it  is  "  ab 
solutely  necessary"  that  all  legislation  must  take  such 
a  form,  and  cause  them  to  act  accordingly. 

Several  years  since,  Dr.  Durbin,  of  the  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal,  gave  his  views  on  this  subject 
as  follows  :— 

"I  infer,  therefore,  that  the  civil  magistrate  may  not  be  called 
upon  to  enforce  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  [Sunday]  as  re 
quired  in  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  Christ ;  but  when  Christianity 
becomes  the  moral  and  spiritual  life  of  the  State,  the  State  is 
bound,  through  her  magistrates,  to  prevent  the  open  violation  of 
the  holy  Sabbath,  as  a  measure  of  self-preservation.  She  cannot, 
without  injuring  her  own  vitality  and  incurring  the  Divine  dis 
pleasure,  be  recreant  to  her  duty  in  this  matter." 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.,  Aug. 
12,  1860,  ex-President  Fillmore  said  that  "  while  he 
deemed  it  needful  to  legislate  cautiously  in  all  mat 
ters  connected  with  public  morals,  and  to  avoid  co 
ercive  measures  affecting  religion,  the  right  of  every 
citizen  to  a  day  of  rest  and  worship  could  not  be  ques 
tioned,  and  laws  securing  that  right  should  be  en 
forced." 

And  the  Christian  Statesman  of  Dec.  15,  1871,  in 
speaking  of  the  general  disregard  of  the  Sabbath 
[Sunday]  in  the  arrangements  for  welcoming  the 
Grand  Duke  Alexis  of  Russia,  said  : — 

"How  long  will  it  be  before  the  Christian  masses  of  this  coun 
try  can  be  aroused  to  enact  a  law  compelling  their  public  servants 
to  respect  the  Sabbath  ?" 

That  the  Sunday  question  has  entered  into  the 
arena  of  politics  to  stay  till  some  decision  is  reached 
in  regard  to  it,  is  now  too  apparent  to  be  questioned  ; 


THE   MARVEL    OP  NATIONS. 

and  this  is  an  immense  stride  in  the  direction  of  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecies  referring  to  this  subject, 
as  herein  set  forth. 

In  August,  1882,  a  copy  of  a  paper  published  in 
Chicago,  and  called  the  Illinois  American,  was  placed 
in  our  hands.  It  purported  to  be  the  organ  of  the 
American  party,  and  it  was  announced  that  the 
party  intended  to  establish  similar  papers  in  all  the 
leading  States  of  the  Union.  That  party  claims  to 
embody  in  its  platform  "  all  the  great  reforms  of  the 
day."  One  reform  which  it  considers  essential  is  the 
enforcement  of  Sunday  as  the  Sabbath,  after  the  man 
ner  of  the  National  Reform  Association.  In  proof  of 
this,  we  have  but  to  quote  the  first  two  planks  in  its 
platform  :— 

"We  hold,  1.  That  ours  is  a  Christian  aud  not  a  heathen  nation, 
and  that  the  God  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  is  the  author  of  civil 
government ;  2.  That  God  requires  and  man  needs  a  Sabbath." 

This  Sabbath  is,  of  course,  the  first  day  of  the  week  ; 
and  whatever  papers  this  party  shall  establish,  will  be 
the  political  organs  of  the  Religious  Amendment 
Movement,  as  the  Christian  Statesman  is  the  relig 
ious  organ.  They  enter  the  field  as  a  national  party, 
and  nominated  candidates  for  the  presidential  elec 
tion  of  1884,  as  follows  :  For  President  of  the  United 
States,  Jonathan  Blanchard,  D.  D.,  President  of  Whea- 
ton  College,  Illinois ;  for  Vice-President,  John  A. 
Conant,  of  Connecticut. 

The  fanatical  temper  of  the  leading  candidate,  on 
the  Sunday  question,  is  plainly  read  in  a  few  facts  : 
1.  He  is  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  National 
Reform  Association,  and  a  prominent  worker  in  that 
movement ;  2.  In  October,  1881,  a  circular  was  sent 
out  from  Wheaton  College  chapel,  of  which  he  was 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING   CHANGES. 

quite  evidently  the  inspiring  spirit,  addressed  to  the 
"  Churches  of  Christ  throughout  the  United  States," 
setting  forth  that  our  great  national  calamity,  the  as 
sassination  of  President  Garfield,  was  a  judgment  of 
God  upon  the  nation  for  its  sins,  chief  among  which 
is  Sabbath  (Sunday)  breaking  ;  and  beseeching  "that 
the  churches  of  Christ,  individually  or  collectively, 
unite  in  requesting  Congress  to  forbid,  by  proper 
enactment,  the  transaction  of  public  business  upon 
the  Sabbath-day  by  any  department  of  government, 
and  that  petitions  to  this  effect  be  prepared  or  ob 
tained  from  the  Sabbath  Association  of  Philadelphia, 
to  be  presented  by  that  society  at  the  opening  of  Con 
gress  on  December  next." 

We  know  many  will  be  inclined  to  look  upon  the 
formation  of  this  new  American  party  as  an  idle  move, 
and  upon  its  efforts  and  object  as  vain  and  impossible. 
But  the  significant  fact  still  remains  that  somebody 
has  thought  enough  of  these  things  to  inaugurate  this 
movement,  and  everything  must  have  a  beginning. 
Moreover,  we  all  know  that  sometimes  the  beginnings 
of  great  revolutions  are  exceedingly  small.  The  acorn 
which  the  little  child  so  easily  holds  in  its  hand,  comes 
at  length  to  be  the  sturdy  oak,  which  the  mightiest 
tempest  cannot  uproot. 

In  one  State  already,  the  Sunday  question  has  been 
made  the  main  issue,  in  a  State  election,  between  the 
two  great  parties,  Democratic  and  Republican.  In 
the  fall  election  of  1882,  California  made  this  issue, 
and  gave  to  our  country  the  first  spectacle  of  a  strictly 
religious  question  in  the  arena  of  politics.  In  this 
struggle  Sunday  was  led  to  the  front  under  the  man 
tle  of  a  "  police  regulation,"  a  merely  "  civil  institu 
tion."  The  working-man,  said  the  Sunday  advocate, 


218  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

must  be  secured  in  his  right  to  a  day  of  rest.  This 
claim  was  too  transparent  to  conceal  from  view  the 
real  object ;  for  the  law  which  it  was  sought  to  en 
force  was  not  the  law  of  the  civil  code,  which  makes 
Sunday  a  legal  holiday  and  gives  every  one  the  priv 
ilege  of  resting  on  it  who  chooses  to  do  so,  but  the 
Sunday  law  of  the  penal  code,  which  was  enacted  for 
the  purpose  of  making  all  desecration  of  the  day  an 
offense  against  religion,  and  punishing  it  as  such. 
Now  if  the  design  was  simply  to  secure  rest  to  the 
people  on  that  day,  the  civil  code  already  provided 
for  that,  and  no  one  proposed  to  interfere  with  the 
action  of  that  law  ;  but  if  it  was  to  enforce  Sunday  as 
a  religious  institution,  on  religious  grounds  alone,  the 
law  of  the  penal  code  was  the  one  to  enforce  ;  and  in 
that  direction  the  effort  was  made.  The  object  was 
therefore  sufficiently  apparent. 

The  Democrats  having  inserted  in  their  platform  a 
plank  calling  for  the  repeal  of  the  Sunday  law,  the 
Republicans,  in  their  State  Convention,  which  con 
vened  in  Sacramento,  Cal.,  Sept.  30,  1882,  introduced 
into  their  platform  a  plank  calling  for  the  mainte 
nance  of  the  law.  Thus  the  issue  was  fairly  joined. 
The  scene  in  the  Sacramento  Convention  when  the 
Sunday  plank  was  read,  baffles  description.  The  four 
hundred  and  fifty  delegates  broke  into  a  vociferous 
shout  ;  they  clapped  their  hands,  stamped  with  their 
feet,  threw  up  their  hats,  and  hugged  each  other  in  a 
delirium  of  joy.  It  was  a  wild,  insane  spirit,  on  which 
neither  argument  nor  the  testimony  of  Scripture 
would  make  any  impression.  We  imagine  it  is  just 
such  a  blind,  impetuous  spirit  which  is  essential  to 
the  success  of  the  Sunday  movement. 

The  Democrats  carried  the  election,  and  the  Sun- 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          219 

day  law  was  in  due  time  repealed.  And  now  the 
friends  of  the  institution  turn  more  vigorously  than 
ever  toward  the  national  movement  which  is  working 
for  the  religious  amendment. 

In  New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  the  agi 
tation  of  the  Sunday  question  has  been  remarkable. 
In  February,  1883,  a  correspondent  wrote  from  Indi 
ana  :  "Almost  every  paper  in  the  State  is  crying  out 
for  Sunday  law  and  Sunday  reform." 

No  less  significant  is  the  fact  that  the  Sunday  agi 
tation  is  appearing  in  foreign  countries  simultaneously 
with  the  Sunday  movement  in  this  country.  The  N. 
Y.  Independent  of  Oct.  1,  1885,  published  the  follow 
ing  significant  article  touching  the  question  of  Sun 
day-keeping  in  Europe  :- 

"No  desideratum  of  the  social  and  religious  world  is  now  being 
more  actively  agitated  in  Central  Europe  than  the  project  of  a  bet 
ter  observance  of  the  Lord's  day.  It  seems  that  the  so-called 
'  Continental  Sunday '  is  doomed  '  to  go  ; '  and  no  friend  of  public 
and  private  morals  will  do  otherwise  than  rejoice  that  its  day  of 
doom  appears  to  have  come.  For  years  an  international  associa 
tion,  organized  for  the  purpose  of  educating  public  sentiment  on 
this  point,  has  been  busily  at  work,  with  head-quarters  at  Geneva, 
and  by  means  of  branch  associations,  publications,  annual  delegate 
meetings,  petitions,  and  the  like,  has  managed  to  keep  the  subject 
constantly  before  the  public.  The  movement  is  just  now  assum 
ing  a  new  character,  and  is  entering  upon  a  new  stage  that  prom 
ises  some  healthy  results.  The  political  authorities  are  beginning 
to  recognize  the  agitation,  and  are  taking  active  steps  in  the  right 
direction.  In  various  cantons  of  Switzerland — such  as  St.  Gall, 
Berne,  Aargau,  and  others — more  stringent  laws  have  been  enacted. 
In  Austria  such  laws  went  into  force  a  few  mouths  ago,  and  al 
ready  good  results  are  reported.  Now  the  German  governments 
have  taken  hold  of  the  matter,  and  are  trying  to  find  out  what  to 
do  in  the  premises.  Prussia  is  leading  in  the  movement.  The 
Minister  of  Cultus  has  issued  a  circular  letter  to  the  presidents  of 
the  various  provinces,  directing  a  stricter  obedience  to  the  Sunday 


220  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

laws  already  in  existence  ;  namely,  that,  during  the  principal  serv 
ices  Sunday  morning  and  afternoon,  and  also  on  the  great  Church 
festivals,  all  work  that  can  interrupt  the  devotions  must  cease,  and 
promising  that,  in  the  near  future,  further  laws  will  be  passed  by 
the  government.  The  Imperial  government  is  taking  similar  steps 
for  the  whole  German  empire.  During  the  past  winter  lively  de 
bates  were  held  on  the  subject  in  the  Reichstag,  or  Imperial  Par 
liament,  which  gave  occasion  to  many  classes  of  the  people  to  ex 
press  their  sentiments  on  this  burning  question.  These  facts  have 
influenced  the  government  to  issue  a  circular  letter  to  representa 
tive  manufacturers  and  other  '  work-givers/  and  also  to  workmen, 
asking  answers  to  the  following  questions  :  1.  Is  Sunday  work 
common  in  all  branches  of  industry  ?  2.  Is  Sunday  work  the  rule 
or  the  exception  ?  3.  Is  this  work  done  (a.)  in  the  whole  business, 
(5.)  for  all  the  workmen,  (c.)  for  the  whole  Sunday  or  for  a  part  ? 
4.  What  causes  this  work,  (a.)  technical  reasons  or  (5.)  economic 
reasons  ?  5.  What  results  would  the  forbidding  of  such  work 
have  (a.)  for  the  capitalist,  (&.)  for  the  workingman,  in  regard  to 
his  income  ?  Would  this  loss  find  a  compensation  in  any  gain  ? 
6.  Is  it  possible  to  carry  laws  forbidding  work  on  Sunday,  ('a.)  with 
out  any  exceptions,  (&.)  with  what  exceptions,  and  for  what  reasons? 
The  answers  received  to  these  questions  by  the  government  officials 
will  have  a  great  deal  to  do  in  shaping  the  proposed  legal  meas 
ures  in  regard  to  Sunday  observance  to  be  introduced  into  the  next 
German  parliament." 

Who  can  explain  the  fact  that  Sunday  seems  ev 
erywhere  coming  to  the  front,  except  on  the  ground 
that  we  have  reached  the  time  pointed  out  in  proph 
ecy  when  such  a  movement  should  be  seen  ?  The 
Chester  (Eng.)  Chronicle  of  July  9,  1881,  reported  a 
meeting  of  3,000  persons  in  Liverpool  in  favor  of  clos 
ing  all  public  houses  on  Sunday.  The  Christian 
Statesman  of  July  22,  1880,  gave  information  from 
England  to  the  effect  that  a  "  Working-man's  Lord's- 
Day  Rest  Association"  had  been  formed  there,  and 
that  two  of  England's  prime  ministers,  Beaconsfield 
and  Gladstone,  had  given  their  voice  against  the 
opening  of  museums,  etc.,  on  Sunday.  The  same 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          221 

policy  is  enforced  by  some,  at  least,  of  the  English 
in  their  dependencies.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
Marquis  of  Ripon,  who  was  made  Viceroy  of  India  in 
1880,  was,  according  to  the  Christian  Weekly,  to  issue 
an  order  forbidding  official  work  of  any  kind  on  Sun 
day. 

In  France  the  question  is  also  agitated.  The  Senate 
having  occasion  to  consider  some  proposed  changes 
in  the  Sunday  laws,  an  eminent  senator,  M.  Barthel- 
emy  Saint  Hilaire,  according  to  the  French  journal, 
Lc  Christianism  au  We  Si6cle,  of  June  11, 1880,  opened 
the  eyes  of  his  hearers  by  a  clear  argument  showing 
that  the  seventh  day,  and  not  the  first  day,  is  the  Sab 
bath  of  the  Bible. 

In  Switzerland  and  Germany,  also,  this  question  is 
before  the  people.  In  the  latter  country,  according 
to  the  New  York  Independent,  a  meeting  was  held  a 
few  years  ago,  numbering  some  5,000  persons,  to  en 
courage  a  more  strict  observance  of  Sunday.  Many 
of  these  were  socialists. 

Austria  also  shares  in  the  general  movement.  A 
New  York  paper  in  January,  1883,  published  the  fol 
lowing  item  :— 

"A  telegram  from  Vienna,  Austria,  says  :  'A  meeting  of  3,000 
workmen  was  held  to-day,  at  which  a  resolution  was  passed  pro 
testing  against  Sunday  work.  A  resolution  was  also  passed  in  fa 
vor  of  legal  prohibition  of  newspaper  and  other  work  on  that 
day/" 

To  come  back  again  to  our  own  country,  we  have 
the  following  singular  circumstance  to  record  :  The 
Illustrated  Christian  Weekly  of  March  3,  1883,  spoke 
of  the  novel  spectacle  of  a  strike  for  religious  pur 
poses,  as  follows  : — 

"A  hundred  men  employed  by  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Kail- 
way  have  struck,  not  for  higher  wages,  but  for  their  Sunday." 


222  THE    MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

There  is  a  local  Sabbath  (Sunday)  Committee  in 
many  of  the  great  cities,  and  an  International  Sab 
bath  Association  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  other 
nations.  This  Association  has  its  offices  in  Philadel 
phia,  Pa. 

The  Churches  can  carry  their  point  whenever  they 
can  become  sufficiently  aroused  to  take  general  and 
concerted  action  in  the  matter.  David  Swing,  at  a 
ministers'  meeting  in  Chicago  in  1879,  held  for  the 
purpose  of  deliberating  in  regard  to  a  better  observ 
ance  of  Sunday,  according  to  a  report  in  the  Inter 
Ocean,  said  : — 

''Group  together  these  Churches, — Presbyterian,  Methodist, 
Baptist,  Congregational,  Episcopal,  and  Catholic, — and  they  make 
up  a  powerful  group  of  generals  and  soldiers.  They  can  throw 
great  armies  into  the  field.  Whoever  should  hope  to  lift  up  suf 
fering  humanity  without  asking  the  aid  of  all  these  heroes  of  old 
battle-fields,  would  simply  show  how  feeble  he  is  in  the  search  of 
great  means  to  a  great  end." 

Thus  Protestants  propose  to  act  in  concert  with 
Catholics  in  this  matter,  and  profess  no  lack  of  assur 
ance  in  regard  to  accomplishing  what  they  undertake. 
And  so  impatient  are  some  to  reach  the  desired  re 
sult,  that  they  are  even  considering  whether  they  can 
not  regard  the  Constitution  already  Christian,  and 
proceed  to  act  accordingly,  without  waiting  for  the  re 
ligious  amendment.'  Thus,  Bishop  A.  Cleveland  Coxe, 
D.  D.,  writing  on  "  National  Christianity,"  in  the  N. 
Y.  Independent  of  July  8,  1880,  expresses  respect 
for  the  "  integrity,  piety,  efforts,  and  objects  of  the 
National  Reform  Association,"  but  thinks  it  would  be 
conceding  too  much.to  the  infidel  element  to  acknowl 
edge  that  the  Constitution  is  not  Christian  as  it  now 
stands.  He  thinks  the  better  way  would  be  to  con- 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING    CHANGES.          223 

sider  that  it  is  already  Christian,  and  then  unitedly 
move  against  all  opposing  influences.  And  he  sug 
gests  that  by  the  time  the  centennial  anniversary  of 
the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  shall  be  reached, 
Sept.  17,  1887,  a  league  shall  have  been  formed,  em 
bracing  ail  Christians  in  an  organization  which  poli 
ticians  shall  respect  and  evil-doers  fear,  and  then  such 
a  celebration  of  the  adoption  of  "  Our  Christian  Con 
stitution"  shall  be  held  as  will  cause  the  material 
splendor  of  1876  to  pale  before  its  moral  grandeur, 
and  make  "AMERICAN  CHRISTIANITY  as  evident  to 
the  world  as  our  other  characteristics  are  already." 

Something  important  may  grow  out  of  this  sugges 
tion.  It  will  at  any  rate  be  safe  to  say  that  we  shall 
see  what  we  shall  see. 

This  notice  of  current  movements  would  hardly  be 
complete  without  a  glance  at  the  seductive  apparent 
change  of  issue  which  is  now  coming  to  be  quite  prom 
inently  brought  to  the  front  ;  and  that  is,  that  the 
Sunday  is  not  to  be  enforced  as  a  religious  institution, 
but  only  as  a  civil  institution  ;  that  to  enforce  the 
keeping  of  the  day  as  an  act  of  religion,  would  be  to 
violate  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  strike  a  blow 
at  religious  liberty,  but  that  the  State  has  a  right  to 
enforce  it  as  a  "sanitary  measure,"  a  "police  regula 
tion,"  a  merely  "civil  enactment,"  and  with  this  sev 
enth-day  keepers  must  comply,  or  move  elsewhere. 

The  International  Sabbath    Association    Recorder, 

published  at  19  So.  Twelfth  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  has 

for  one  of  its  mottoes  these  words  of  Adam  Smith  : — 

"The  Sabbath  as  apolitical  institution  is  of  inestimable  value, 

independently  of  its  claim  to  divine  authority." 

Richard  W.  Thompson,  when  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
in  1880,  at  a  meeting  of  the  New  York  Sabbath  Com- 


224  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

mittee,  as  reported  in  the  N.  Y.  Herald  of  March  8, 
1880,  said  :— 

"I  take  it  there  is  no  principle  better  fixed  in  the  American  mind 
than  the  determination  to  insist  upon  the  conformity  by  foreign 
ers  to  our  Sunday  legislation.  We  are  a  Sabbath-keeping  people. 
[Applause.]  Men  say  that  we  have  no  power  to  interfere  with 
the  natural  right  of  individuals  ;  that  a  man  may  spend  Sunday  as 
he  pleases.  But  society  has  a  right  to  make  laws  for  its  own  pro 
tection.  They  are  not  religious  laws.  The  men  engaged  in  this 
grand  work  of  securing  the  enforcement  of  the  Sabbath  laws,  do 
not  want  to  force  you  into  any  church  ;  for  these  gentlemen  rep 
resent  all  denominations.  They  want  to  make  you  observe  the 
Sabbath-day  as  a  day  of  rest  merely,— peaceably  if  they  can,  forci 
bly  if  they  must, — only  so  far  as  it  is  necessary  to  protect  society. 
Destroy  the  Sabbath,  and  you  go  out  of  light  into  darkness.  A 
government  without  the  Sabbath  as  a  civil  institution,  could  not 
stand  long  enough  to  fall.  [Applause.]  " 

And  yet  with  all  these  professions  they  find  it  im 
possible  to  conceal  the  fact  that  it  is,  after  all,  a  re- 
ligioiis  observance  which  they  wish  to  secure.  Thus 
Mr.  Thompson  continues  : — 

"Why  are  we  so  specially  interested  in  Sabbath  laws  ? — Because 
there  is  no  other  government  that  depends  so  much  on  the  moral 
ity  of  its  citizens  as  ours.  Here,  where  we  have  a  republic  with 
its  existence  depending  on  the  mass  of  the  people,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  general  observance  of  Hie  Sabbath." 

The  italics  in  the  foregoing  quotation  are  ours  ;  and 
we  thus  emphasize  these  words  because  we  must  in 
sist  that  the  devoting  of  a  day  to  cessation  from  labor 
in  obedience  to  a  law  of  the  State  is  in  no  sense  the 
"  observance  of  the  Sabbath,"  even  though  the  right 
day  were  selected  for  that  purpose.  For  the  very 
idea  of  the  Sabbath  is  a  religious  idea.  It  is  derived 
from  the  word  of  God.  There  is  no  Sabbath  in  any 
Scriptural  sense,  except  the  day  that  God  made  such 
by  resting  upon  it.  And  when  the  day  is  observed 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          225 

as  a  religious  act,  on  the  authority  of  God's  word  and 
as  his  word  directs,  the  Sabbath  is  observed,  but  not 
otherwise.  Neither  is  compliance  with  a  State  law 
to  stop  work  on  a  certain  day,  in  any  just  sense  the 
practice  of  "morality,"  unless  the  State  is  the  source 
of  that  grace,  and  civil  laws  are  moral  laws.  Yet  Mr. 
T.'s  language  betrays  the  fact  that  it  is  the  "  moral 
ity,"  and  the  "  observance  of  the  Sabbath,"  that  it  is 
intended  to  enforce. 

The  people  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  the  call  for  a  mass- 
meeting,  Feb.  10,  1879,  "  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
a  better  observance  of  our  weekly  rest-day,"  endeav 
ored  to  draw  this  distinction  sharp,  as  follows  :— 

"With  regard  to  the  Sabbath  as  a  religious  institution,  we  pro 
pose  to  do  nothing  whatever  in  this  meeting.  We  withdraw  from 
the  discussion  every  religious  question.  Your  attention  will  be 
called  exclusively  to  the  Sabbath  as  a  civil  institution,  a  day  of 
rest  from  labor  and  public  amusements,  set  apart  for  that  purpose 
by  the  immemorial  usage  of  the  American  people  and  the  laws  of 
the  land." 

Mr.  Joseph  Cook,  in  a  Boston  lecture  in  May,  1879, 
claimed  the  same  distinction.  He  said  :— 

"Sabbath  laws  are  justified  in  a  republic  by  the  right  of  self- 
preservation.  ...  An  important  distinction  exists  between 
Sunday  observance  as  a  religious  ordinance  and  as  a  civil  institu 
tion.  American  courts,  while  enforcing  the  Sun.day  laws,  disclaim 
interference  with  religion,"  etc. 

Such  a  presentation  of  the  subject  will  captivate 
many  minds,  and  lead  thousands  to  act  from  a  stand 
point  of  secular  policy  as  they  would  not  dare  to  act 
from  that  of  religious  toleration. 

Even  the  N.  Y.  Independent,  after  its  scathing  ex 
posure  of  the  inconsistency  of  the  Religious  Amend 
ment  Movement,  as  given  on  p.  205,  is,  in  its  issue  of 
Jan.  4,  1883,  carried  away  with  this  kind  of  logic, 

15 


226  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

The  case  calling  out  its  remarks  was  this  :  Certain 
Jews  in  New  York  City  made  application  for  an  in 
junction  restraining  the  police  from  arresting  them 
for  pursuing  their  ordinary  business  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  observers 
of  the  seventh  day.  The  injunction  was  temporarily 
granted  by  Judge  Arnoux,  but  was  soon  after  dis 
solved,  on  the  plea  that  the  business  of  the  applicants 
would  not  come  under  the  head  of  "  works  of  mercy 
or  necessity."  The  New  York  penal  code  makes  only 
this  provision  for  observers  of  the  seventh  day  :— 

"It  is  a  sufficient  defense  to  a  prosecution  for  servile  labor  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  that  the  defendant  uniformly  keeps  an 
other  day  of  the  week  as  holy  time,  and  does  not  labor  on  that 
day  ;  and  that  the  labor  complained  of  was  done  in  such  a  manner 
as  not  to  interrupt  or  disturb  other  persons  in  observing  the  first 
day  of  the  week  as  holy  time." 

It  is  now  argued  that  this  is  no  ground  for  exemp 
tion  from  arrest  for  Sunday  labor  ;  for  such  labor  is  a 
violation  of  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  the  law  does 
not  presume  that  a  man  has  a  defense  till  he  makes 
one.  Therefore,  although  a  man  is  well  known  to  be 
a  conscientious  observer  of  the  seventh  day,  he  may 
be  arrested  whenever  found  working  on  the  first  day, 
and  put  to  all  the  annoyance  and  trouble  of  making 
a  defense.  And  such  a  course  of  action  is  defended 
as  right. 

To  the  question,  Would  not  this  be  a  hardship  to 
the  Jews  and  Seventh-day  Baptists  ?  the  Independent 
makes  answer  that  this  is  incidental  to  their  living  in 
a  community  which  makes  Sunday  the  day  of  rest, 
and  cannot  be  avoided  without  destroying  the  day  of 
rest  altogether. 

Again  it  says  that  if  the  Sunday  law— 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING    CHANGES.          227 

•  <  Is  not  equally  well  fitted  to  the  Jews,  as  it  is  not,  who  form  but 
a  mere  fragment  of  the  people,  this  is  an  inconvenience  to  them 
which  they  must  bear,  and  which  the  law  cannot  remove  without 
imposing  a  much  greater  inconvenience  upon  a  far  larger  number 
of  persons." 

Now  comes  the  distinction  on  the  strength  of  which 
these  sentiments  are  uttered.  Again  we  quote  : — 

"If  it  [the  Sunday  law]  enforced  any  kind  of  religious  observ 
ance  upon  them,  this  would  be  unjust  ;  but  there  is  no  injustice 
in  requiring  them  to  observe  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest  in  a  commu 
nity  in  which,  for  good  and  sufficient  general  reasons,  the  day  is  so 
observed.  If  they  do  not  like  it,  we  see  no  remedy  for  them  ex 
cept  in  a  withdrawal  from  such  a  community." 

Notwithstanding  such  declarations,  the  general 
reader  will,  AVC  think,  be  able  to  look  beneath  this 
woolly  exterior,  and  discern  the  true  nature  of  the 
Sunday-law  movement,  and  why  it  has  seen  fit  to  ar 
ray  itself  in  sheep's  clothing.  It  will,  without  doubt, 
be  conceded  by  all  that  the  present  clamor  for  Sun 
day  legislation  is  owing  entirely  to  the  fact  that  the 
great  majority  of  religionists  regard  the  day  as  a  di 
vine  institution,  and  its  observance  as  a  religious  duty. 
But  some  do  not  so  regard  it,  because  they  under 
stand  that  God  has  set  apart  another  day  for  the  Sab 
bath,  and  does  not  require  the  observance  of  this  one  ; 
and  when  such  are  compelled  to  observe  the  first  day, 
in  what  position  are  they  at  once  placed  ? — They  are 
made  to  keep  the  day  because  others  regard  it  as  a 
divine  institution,  while  they  do  not  so  regard  it,  and 
to  pay  homage  to  a  religious  custom  which  they  know 
to  be  false.  They  are  deprived  of  one-sixth  of  the 
time  which  God  has  given  them  for  labor,  and  are 
thus  robbed  of  one-sixth  of  their  means  of  support,  if 
they  live  by  the  labor  of  their  hands,  as  most  of  them 
do,  because  a  stronger  religion  demands  it,  and  the 


228  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

State  confirms  that  demand.  Is  there  not  here  relig 
ious  discrimination  ?  Are  not  the  consciences  of  one 
class  oppressed  in  the  interest  of  another  class  ?  Is 
not  this  an  interference  on  the  part  of  the  State  with 
the  spiritual  freedom  of  its  subjects?  Is  not  this  re 
ligious  intolerance  and  persecution  for  conscience' 
sake  ?  Such,  in  reality,  it  is,  however  much  people 
may  try  to  disguise  it  by  other  names. 

In  a  later  issue,  dated  March  1,  1883,  in  reply  to 
the  question  from  a  correspondent,  "  Will  you  please 
tell  me  how  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  religion  ?"  the 
Independent  says  : — 

"We  can  only  repeat  that  it  is  a  great  disadvantage  to  be  in  the 
minority.  People  there  may  be  right ;  but  they  must  suffer  and 
submit." 

Every  one,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  down,  who 
has  suffered  from  religious  oppression,  could  testify 
in  regard  to  the  disadvantage  of  being  in  the  minor 
ity.  But  is  this  government,  which  professes  to  guar 
antee  to  the  weakest  and  humblest  citizen  his  just 
rights,  now  to  take  the  position  that  such  rights  can- 
*not  be  secured  unless  he  is  with  the  majority  ? 

Again  the  Independent  says  : — 

"All  the  State  wants  is  that  the  citizen  shall  have  one  day  in 
seven  for  rest,  not  for  religion/' 

But  can  any  one  tell  why  the  large  majority  can 
not  "rest"  just  as  well  on  the  first  day,  even  if  the 
small  minority  who  keep  the  seventh  day  go  about 
their  legitimate  and  honorable  occupation  ?  If  it  is 
"rest"  merely  that  is  wanted,  does  my  work  hinder 
my  neighbor  from  resting  ?  But  no  !  if  you  are  seen 
at  work,  you  shall  be  arrested.  Therefore,  it  is  not 
simply  the  privilege  of  rest  for  those  who  desire  it, 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING  CHANGES.          229 

but  a  compulsory  rest,  whether  you  wish  it  or  not, 
because  others  desire  that  you  shall  rest  as  well  as 
themselves.  Again  we  quote  :— 

"If  they  insist  on  so  working  as  to  interfere  with  the  rest-day 
of  the  majority,  they  must  either  move,  or  be  moved  away.  We 
are  sorry,  but  there  is  no  help  for  it." 

We  know  of  no  observers  of  the  seventh  day  who 
have  the  least  intention  of  interfering,  or  desire  to  in 
terfere,  with  others  in  their  observance  of  the  first 
day.  They  ask  for  no  right  to  do  anything  of  this 
kind.  They  would  religiously  refrain  from  disturb 
ing  either  the  private  rest  or  the  public  devotion  of 
any  on  that  day.  But  we  apprehend  that  the  very 
fact  that  they  do  not  keep  the  day,  nor  acknowledge 
its  claims,  will  be  construed  to  amount  to  a  sufficient 
"interference"  and  "disturbance"  to  call  for  repress 
ive  measures.  'Let  them  "  move  or  be  moved." 

The  opposition  to  the  religious  amendment  mani 
fested  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  especially  by  the 
liberal  or  infidel  element,  is  thought  by  many  to  be 
an  insuperable  barrier  in  the  way  of  its  success.  But 
if  we  mistake  not,  this  is  the  very  stimulus  which  will 
excite  its  friends  to  such  exertions  that  it  will  ulti 
mately  be  secured  ;  for  the  opposition  assumes  such 
an  aggressive  attitude  that  no  neutral  ground  is  left ; 
an  irrepressible  conflict  is  precipitated  ;  it  must  be 
victory  or  defeat  of  the  most  decisive  kind  with  either 
party  ;  the  government  must  become  nominally  wholly 
Christian  or  in  reality  wholly  secular. 

Thus  the  National  Reform  Association  set  forth  the 
object  they  have  in  view  by  the  second  article  of  their 
Constitution,  which  reads  as  follows  : — 

"  The  object  of  this  Society  shall  be  to  maintain  existing  Chris 
tian  features  in  the  American  government,  and  to  secure  such  an 


230  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

* 

amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  will  indi 
cate  that  this  is  a  Christian  nation,  and  place  all  the  Christian 
laws,  institutions,  and  usages  of  our  government  on  an  undeniable 
legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land." 

On  the  other  hand,  in  opposition  to  this  National 
Reform  Movement,  Liberalism  sets  forth  its  sweeping 
antagonistic  demands  in  the  following  platform  : — 

"1.  We  demand  that  churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  property 
shall  no  longer  be  exempt  from  just  taxation. 

"  2.  We  demand  that  the  employment  of  chaplains  in  Congress, 
in  State  Legislatures,  in  the  navy  and  militia,  and  in  prisons, 
asylums,  and  all  other  institutions  supported  by  public  money, 
shall  be  discontinued. 

"3.  We  demand  that  all  public  appropriations  for  educational 
and  charitable  institutions  of  a  sectarian  character  shall  cease. 

"4.  We  demand  that  all  religious  services  now  sustained  by  the 
government  shall  be  abolished  ;  and  especially  that  the  use  of  the 
Bible  in  the  public  schools,  whether  ostensibly  as  a  text-book  or 
avowedly  as  a  book  of  religious  worship,  shall  be  prohibited. 

"5.  We  demand  that  the  appointment,  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  or  by  the  Governors  of  the  various  States,  of  all  re 
ligious  festivals  and  fasts,  shall  wholly  cease. 

"6.  We  demand  that  the  judicial  oath,  in  the  courts  and  in  all 
other  departments  of  the  government,  shall  be  abolished,  and  that 
simple  affirmation  under  the  pains  and  penalties  of  perjury  shall 
be  established  in  its  stead. 

"1.  We  demand  that  all  laws  directly  or  indirectly  enforcing 
the  observance  of  Sunday  as  the  Sabbath  shall  be  repealed. 

"8.  We  demand  that  all  laws  looking  to  the  enforcement  of 
'  Christian '  morality  shall  be  abrogated,  and  that  all  laws  shall  be 
conformed  to  the  requirements  of  natural  morality,  equal  rights, 
and  impartial  liberty. 

"  9.  We  demand  that  not  only  in  the  Constitutions  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  several  States,  but  also  in  the  practical  adminis 
tration  of  the  same,  no  privilege  or  advantage  shall  be  conceded 
to  Christianity  or  any  other  special  religion  ;  that  our  entire  polit 
ical  system  shall  be  founded  and  administered  on  a  purely  secular 
basis  ;  and  that  whatever  changes  shall  prove  necessary  to  this 
end,  shall  be  consistently,  unflinchingly,  and  promptly  made." 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING   CHANGES.         231 

% 

The  Inter  Ocean  of  Nov.  16,  1880,  reported  the  pro 
ceedings  of  a  convention  held  in  Chicago  the  day 
previous,  for  the  promotion  of  the  "  secularization  "  of 
the  State.  "  By  that,"  said  the  report,  "  they  signify 
the  exclusion  of  the  Bible  and  all  religious  training 
from  the  public  schools,  and  the  taxation  of  church 
property.  A  permanent  organization  was  effected." 

Thus  while  frequent  conventions  are  held  by  the 
National  Reform  party,  counter  conventions  are  held 
by  the  Liberalists  ;  and  the  forces  are  marshaling  on 
either  side. 

The  Tulare   (Cal.)   Times  of  Oct.  20,  1882,   said  :— 

"  The  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian  Covenanter  organ  pro 
claims  '  an  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  religious  and  secular 
theories  of  government.'  The  sectarian  press  reiterates  the  senti 
ment,  and  such  politicians  as  John  Sherman,  Governor  Foster, 
Jeremiah  Black,  Judge  Sawyer,  Senator  Harvey,  Judge  Brooks  of 
North  Carolina,  Judge  Saffold  of  Alabama,  Judge  Phelps  of  Con 
necticut,  Judge  Cole  of  Iowa,  Governor  Turnes  of  Nebraska,  Judge 
Rockwell  of  Massachusetts,  and  Judge  Morrison  of  California  echo 
the  demand  for  a  religious  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  General  Grant  warned  the  country  years  ago,  that 
there  was  impending  such  a  struggle  between  the  '  God  in  the 
Constitution  party'  on  the  one  side,  and  the  friends  of  the  present 
guarantees  for  religious  freedom  on  the  other  side,  as  would  shake 
the  very  foundations  of  our  government.  And  yet  such  men  as 
ex-Governor  Woods  have  the  effrontery  to  deny  that  there  is  any 
danger  of  a  religious  contest.  These  fomenters  of  religious  tyr 
anny  are  endeavoring  to  lull  the  people  and  put  them  to  sleep, 
that  their  designs  may  be  the  more  easily  accomplished." 

The  Chicago  Express  of  Feb.  1G,  1884,  contains  an 
article  written  by  Bishop  Foster,  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  While  traveling  in  Europe,  he  takes  occa 
sion  to  speak  of  those  forms  of  worship  there  which 
are  supported  by  law,  and  the  acts  that  led  to  such  a 
state  of  things.  He  says  :— 


MARVEL    OP 

"That  there  is  but  little  real,  vital,  personal,  religion  in  these 
lands,  is  among  the  most  patent  facts.  ...  I  know  of  nothing 
more  sad  than  the  religious  condition  of  Europe,  and  the  saddest 
part  of  it  is  that  it  is  chargeable  to  the  Church  itself,  and  therefore  the 
more  hopeless.  If  something  is  not  speedily  done,  the  so-called  Chris 
tian  Church  will  drive  Christianity  from  these  ancient  lands,  if  not 
from  the  whole  world. " 

In  speaking  of  the  primary  causes  which  led  to 
this  spiritual  condition,  he  says  : — 

"Did  Constantino  make  the  Roman  mind  Christian  by  abolish 
ing  paganism,  and  proclaiming  the  religion  of  the  cross  in  its 
stead,  and,  creating  the  constituted  Eoman  nation  into  a  Church, 
make  the  nation  a  Christian  Church  ?  or  did  he  not  rather  pagan 
ize  Christianity  ?  " 

Speaking  still  further  of  the  present  state  of  things, 
he  says  : — 

"By  a  false  theory,  the  Church  has  been  taken  from  the  people, 
and  converted  into  a  priestly  and  political  machine,  and  lias  ceased  to 
be  a  Church  of  Christ,  as  much  as  the  papal  machine  at  Rome.  .  .  . 
This  condition  of  things  is  the  sad  inheritance  of  the  union  of 
Church  and  State." 

The  editor  of  the  Express,  in  calling  attention  to 
these  statements  of  the  Bishop,  says-:— 

"  The  Church  in  America  has  also  very  largely  become  a  polit 
ical  machine,  and  lias  been  used  as  a  means  of  raising  a  campaign 
fund  to  retain  and  maintain  the  party  in  power,  and  return  men  to 
office  who  have  betrayed  the  people,  and  sold  them  to  the  giant 
corporations  of  the  land.  .  .  .  How  long,  we  would  ask  of 
Bishop  Foster,  does  he  imagine  it  will  be  before  the  Church  in 
America,  like  the  Church  in  Europe,  will  be  forced  to  seek  an  al 
liance  with  the  State  in  order  to  sustain  itself,  because  of  the  in 
difference  of  the  people,  who  perceive  its  iniquitous  practices,  and 
scoff  at  its  pretended  Christianity  ?  Already  a  union  of  the  two  is 
a  thing  openly  spoken  of  as  desirable. 

"We  have  before  us  at  this  moment  a  religious  journal,  the  Sab 
bath  Sentinel,  which  in  its  leading  editorial  warns  the  Church 
against  the  tendency.  The  rich  men  within  the  Church,  who  have 


INDICATIONS   OP   COMING    CHANGES.         238 

taken  shelter  there  against  public  condemnation  of  their  crimes  of 
extortion,  are  ready  at  any  time  for  the  union — more  than  ready. 
They  would  do  with  their  taxes  to  the  Church  as  they  have  done 
with  their  taxes  to  the  State, — frame  the  laws  in  such  a  way  that 
the  poor  shall  be  forced  to  pay  for  them.  Every  one  of  the  causes 
which  produced  the  union  of  Church  and  State  in  Europe,  exists 
either  in  full  bloom  or  in  embryo  in  this  country  ;  and  here,  as 
there,  '  if  something  is  not  speedily  done,  the  so-called  Christian 
Church  will  drive  Christianity  from  the  land.' 

"Again  we  say,  with  the  Bishop,  'Let  the  Church  of  God  come 
out  from  the  world  ;  let  it  be  made  of  followers  and  disciples  of 
Christ ;  let  it  represent  righteousness  and  truth  ;  let  it  cut  loose 
from  false  and  entangling  alliances  ;  let  its  priests  be  clothed  with 
salvation,  and  its  citizens  be  a  holy  communion  ;  let  it  demonstrate 
its  divine  lineage, — let  this  be  the  watch-cry  of  Zion,  and  then  it 
will  be  a  power  in  the  earth,  and  will  silence  the  taunt  of  its  ene 
mies/  " 

In  the  Richland  Star  of  Dec.  4,  1879,  published  in 
Bellville,  Ohio,  an  infidel  wrote  against  the  National 
Reform  party,  which  had  then  recently  held  a  con 
vention  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  concluding  his  remarks 
as  follows : — 

"  The  lash  and  the  sword  have  always  proved  poor  ambassadors 
of  Christ.  If  we  live  up  to  our  Constitution  as  it  now  is,  we  shall 
be  good  citizens,  and  have  all  the  room  we  care  to  occupy  as 
Christians." 

To  this  writer  a  Mr.  W.  W.  Anderson  replied  in 
the  next  issue  of  the  same  paper,  in  defense  of  the 
Association,  giving  expression,  in  his  remarks,  to  this 
sentiment  : — 

"Either  we  are  a  Christian  nation,  or  we  are  not.  Either  our 
Sabbath  laws,  so  essential  to  good  order  and  the  welfare  of  all 
classes,  are  to  be  maintained,  or  they  are  to  be  abrogated.  In  the 
latter  case,  we  shall  wade  through  blood,  as  Paris  did  when  under 
infidel  rule." 

These  passages  show  that  the  contestants  are  fully 


THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

aware  of  the  nature  and  magnitude  of  the  struggle 
upon  which  the  Christian  world  is  now  entering. 

A  minister  in  Kansas,  an  agent  of  the  National  Re 
form  Association,  uses  the  term,  "  A  Second  Irrepress 
ible  Conflict,"  to  describe  the  antagonism  now  arising 
between  theology  and  secularism,  as  embodied  in  the 
present  movement  for  a  religious  amendment  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  opposition 
to  this  he  likens  to  the  great  Rebellion,  and  asks  if  we 
are  to  have  another  such  rebellion.  A  few  words 
from  his  pen  will  set  forth  his  views  in  this  respect, 
arid  indicate  the  length  to  which  he  would  be  willing 
to  go  in  its  suppression.  He  says  :— 

"The  great  Rebellion,  which  was  put  down  at  such  frightful 
cost,  was  a  rebellion  which  aimed  to  strike  down  liberty  from  its 
place  in  the  American  government.  The  rising  rebellion  we  have 
yet  to  deal  with,  aims  to  strike  down  Christianity  from  the  place  it 
has  held  in  our  government  from  its  origin  to  the  present  hour." 

This,  he  thinks,  can  be  met  only  by  the  amendment 
movement  of  the  National  Reform  party.  And  he 
leaves  it  to  be  inferred,  as  did  also  the  speakers  at 
the  National  Reform  Convention  in  Cleveland,  in  De 
cember,  1883,  that  if  the  success  of  this  movement  cost 
even  as  great  a  sacrifice  as  the  suppression  of  our  late 
political  Rebellion  cost,  the  sacrifice  should  be  made 
rather  than  that  the  religious  amendment  movement 
should  fail.  For  he  says  : — 

"The  success  of  the  present  endeavor  to  conform  our  govern 
ment  in  every  respect  to  its  acknowledged  secular  Constitution, 
would  be  followed  by  consequences  more  revolutionary  and  more 
frightful  [italics  his]  than  would  have  followed  the  success  of  the 
endeavor  of  the  pro-slavery  party  of  the  North  and  of  the  South, 
to  conform  our  government  in  every  respect  to  our  then  pro-slavery 
Constitution." 

If  this  is  so,  the  rising  rebellion,  before  which  he 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING   CHANGES.          235 

stands  appalled,  should  be  put  down  even  at  a  greater 
sacrifice  than  the  former. 

But  it  might  be  well  to  inquire  what  has  given  Lib 
eralism  its  recent  impulse  toward  the  secularization 
of  the  State.  Is  it  not  the  National  Reform  move 
ment  itself  ?  We  heard  nothing  about  the  "  demands" 
of  Liberalism,  nor  their  specially  aggressive  work,  till 
the  amendmentists  began  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  civil 
power  in  behalf  of  religious  customs  and  dogmas. 
This  naturally  threw  the  Liberalists  into  an  active 
defensive  movement  under  the  menace  of  the  loss  of 
their  civil  rights.  Thus  the  amendmentists  find  that 
they  have  conjured  up  a  demon  which  they  would 
now  fain  exorcise.  Neither  party  can  recede  from 
the  positions  it  has  taken.  The  crisis  must  now 
come  ;  and  the  amendmentists  see  no  way  to  meet  it 
on  their  part,  but  to  carry  through  to  the  desperate 
end,  the  movement  by  which  it  has  been  precipitated. 

A  very  marked  and  rapid  change  is  taking  place 
in  public  opinion  relative  to  the  proposed  religious 
amendment  of  the  Constitution.  Some  who  were  at 
first  openly  hostile  to  the  movement,  we  learn  are 
now  giving  their  influence  for  its  advancement,  and 
clamoring  loudly  for  a  Sunday  law.  And  some  who 
at  first  regarded  it  with  indifference,  are  now  becom 
ing  its  warm  partisans.  As  a  sample  of  this  change 
of  feeling,  the  following  paragraph  from  the  Christian 
Press  of  January,  1872,  may  be  presented.  The  Chris 
tian  Press  is  the  organ  of  the  Western  Book  and 
Tract  Society,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  its  editor,  speak 
ing  of  the  National  Association  above  referred  to, 
says  : — 

"When  this  Association  was  formed,  while  we  were  prepared 
to  bid  it  God  speed,  we  did  not  then  feel  that  there  was  any  press- 


236  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

ing  need  for  the  object  sought ;  and  as  our  mission  was  specially 
directed  to  the  Christianizing,  enlightening,  and  elevating  of  the 
masses  of  the  people,  we  have  said  little  in  our  columns  on  the 
subject,  being  assured  that  if  the  people  are  right,  it  is  easy  to  set 
the  government  right.  The  late  combined  efforts,  however,  of 
various  classes  of  our  citizens  to  exclude  the  Bible  from  our 
schools,  repeal  our  Sabbath  laws,  and  divorce  our  government  en 
tirely  from  religion,  and  thus  make  it  an  atheistic  government, — 
for  every  government  must  be  for  God  or  again-st  him,  and  must 
be  administered  in  the  interests  of  religion  and  good  morals,  or  in 
the  interests  of  irreligion  and  immorality, — have  changed  our 
mind,  and  we  are  now  prepared  to  urge  the  necessity  for  an  ex 
plicit  acknowledgment  in  the  national  Constitution  of  the  author 
ity  of  God,  and  the  supremacy  of  his  law  as  revealed  in  the  Script 
ures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

The  course  of  the  Examiner  and  Chronicle,  the  lead 
ing  Baptist  journal  of  our  country,  is  another  case  in 
point.  When  the  movement  for  the  religious  amend 
ment  of  the  Constitution  was  inaugurated,  this  paper, 
alluding  thereto,  said  :— 

"We  have  wondered  at  the  magical  effects  ascribed  to  the  sac 
raments  according  to  high-church  theology.  But  turning  a  nation 
of  atheists  to  Christians  by  a  few  strokes  of  the  pen,  by  a  vote  in 
Congress,  and  ratifying  votes  in  three-fourths  of  the  State  Legis 
latures,  is  equally  miraculous  and  incomprehensible.  This  agita 
tion  for  a  national  religion,  officially  professed,  has  for  its  logical 
outcome,  persecution — that,  and  nothing  more  or  less.  It  is  a 
movement  backward  to  the  era  of  Constantine  ;  as  far  below  the 
spirituality  of  the  New  Testament  as  it  is  below  the  freedom  of 
republican  America." 

But  in  1879  the  same  paper,  in  an  article  on  "  The 
Day  of  Rest,"  changed  its  tone  in  reference  to  na 
tional  action  on  this  question,  as  follows  : — 

"  By  these  and  other  considerations,  therefore,  we  are  justified 
in  holding  that  the  spirit  of  the  fourth  commandment,  with  all  its 
divine  sanctions  and  sacred  privileges,  applies  in  full  force  to  the 
Christian  day  of  rest.  To  preserve  it  from  profanation,  to  main 
tain  its  inestimable  privileges,  to  secure  to  all  the  sanitary,  moral, 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          237 

family,  and  civic  benefits  of  which  M.  Proudhon  wrote,  as  well  as 
the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  religious  service  on  that  day,  is  a 
duty  which  Christians  owe  at  once  to  their  country  and  their  God. 
And  in  this  work  governments  should  aid,  within  their  sphere,  in 
the  interest  of  public  morals,  and  the  general  well-being  of  society/' 

Again,  the  Universalist  of  Oct.  6,  1877,  published 
in  Boston,  Mass.,  contained  a  report  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Convention  of  Universalists,  held  in  Wor 
cester,  Mass.,  Sept.  25,  1877.  In  that  Convention  a 
resolution  "  heartily  sympathizing  with  the  aims  of 
the  National  Reform  Association  in  seeking  a  legal 
recognition  of  God  and  his  government,"  was  intro 
duced.  The  committee  to  whom  it  was  referred  rec 
ommended  its  adoption.  In  the  discussion  which  fol 
lowed,  Mr.  H.  Kimball  said,  "  We  may  initiate  a  re 
ligious  war,  of  all  wars  the  most  bitter."  Dr.  Flan 
ders  said,  "  There  is  danger  in  the  resolution."  Rev. 
Mr.  Chambre  said,  "  It  is  a  reactionary  movement, 
hostile  to  the  religious  liberty  whereof  Universalists 
have  been  the  special  champions."  Rev.  G.  W.  Has- 
kell  said  that  "  the  Association  which  seeks  the  change 
in  the  Constitution  only  keeps  its  Calvinism  in  abey 
ance.  That  will  come  in  due  time  if  it  gets  encour 
agement." 

After  all  these  plain  utterances,  a  motion  for  indefi 
nite  postponement  was  lost.  A  motion  to  strike  it 
out  was  lost.  The  motion  to  adopt  was  then  carried 
by  a  vote  of  61  to  47. 

This  strange  action  on  the  part  of  the  Universalists 
may  be  attributed  largely  to  the  course  of  the  Lib 
eral  League  in  calling  for  the  abolition  of  all  recog 
nition  of  God  and  religion  in  State  instruments  and 
operations,  and  making  the  government  wholly  sec 
ular  ;  for  this  is  arousing  the  fears  of  all  classes  of 


238  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

professed  Christians,  and  inciting  them  to  repel  what 
they  consider  the  danger.  Nothing  can  tend  more 
strongly  to  precipitate  the  conflict  on  the  Amendment 
question. 

The  tendency  of  religious  opinion  is  still  further 
shown  in  the  position  taken  by  the  Christian  Instruc 
tor  in  the  year  1884.  Judge  Black  of  Pennsylvania, 
having  argued  before  the  House  Judiciary  Committee 
at  Washington,  Jan.  30,  1883,  against  the  bill  "  To 
Suppress  Polygamy  in  the  Territories,  the  Instructor 
said  : — 

"When  distinguished  jurists  are  taking  such  positions  relating 
to  questions  of  Christian  morals,  is  it  not  time,  is  it  not  impera 
tive,  that  the  Christian  people  of  this  nation  should  demand  the 
religious  amendment  of  the  Constitution  ?  Many  say,  as  they  have 
been  saying,  'It  is  best  to  let  well  enough  alone.'  It  is  becoming 
manifest,  however,  that  well  enough  cannot  be  left  alone.  The  si 
lence  of  the  Constitution  is  being  interpreted  and  used  against  the 
Christian  institutions  of  the  nation.  The  Constitution  must  cease 
to  be  silent,  and,  by  the  amendment,  must  unmistakably  declare 
that  this  is  a  Christian  nation,  and  that  its  morality  is  the  morality 
of  the  revealed  will  of  God.  Only  thus  is  it  possible  to  have  our 
Christian  institutions  and  usages  permanently  preserved." 

The  following  resolutions  may  also  be  taken  as 
sample  expressions  of  the  sentiment  that  prevails  to 
a  large  extent  among  church  members  of  different  de 
nominations,  in  reference  to  the  proposed  religious 
amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

The  St.  Joseph  District  Conference  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  Marysville,  Mo.,  passed  a  resolution  Oct.  4, 
1882,  of  which  the  following  is  the  substance  : — 

"Resolved,  That  we  do  most  heartily  commend  and  indorse  the 
object  of  the  National  Reform  Association,  and  we  pledge  to  them 
our  prayers  for  success  in  securing  their  commendable  and  much 
needed  amendment  to  our  National  Constitution." 

The  General  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  at 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.         239 

Philadelphia,  May  27,  1884,  unanimously  passed  the 
following : — 

"  Resolved,  That  we  will  use  our  efforts  to  secure  such  a  change 
in  the  Constitution  of  our  country  as  shall  recognize  the  being  of 
God,  our  dependence  upon  him  for  prosperity,  and  also  his  word 
as  the  foundation  of  civil  law." 

The  Iowa  State  Western  Baptist  Association,  at 
Shenandoah,  Oct.  5,  1882,  unanimously  embodied  the 
same  sentiment  in  the  following  resolution  : — 

"Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  approve  of  that  part  of  the  plan 
adopted  by  the  National  Association  which  aims  at  the  enactment 
of  such  laws  as  will  lead  to  the  better  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  use  of  the  Bible  in  our  public  schools."  • 

The  Kansas  Annual  Conference  of  the  Protestant 
Methodist  Church,  at  Whitewater  Center,  Sept.  1C, 
1882,  also  unanimously  passed  the  following  :— 

"Resolved,  That,  as  a  Christian  nation,  it  is  the  sense  of  this 
Conference  that  we  should  demand  ingrafted  in  the  United  States 
Constitution  an  amendment  acknowledging  our  faith  in,  and  de 
pendence  upon,  Almighty  God." 

Almost  as  fast  as  the  matter  is  brought  to  the  at 
tention  of  the  Churches  and  Conferences,  similar  sen 
timents  are  called  out.  The  danger  is  that  many  will 
be  drawn  into  the  movement  without  perceiving  its 
true  import,  and  the  evils  to  which  it  will  lead  ;  that 
they  will  favor  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution, 
thinking  it  will  be  made  better,  not  understanding 
that  the  final  result  will  be  to  transform  it  from  the 
grand  aegis  of  our  liberties  into  an  instrument  of  un 
righteousness  and  oppression. 

Yet  notwithstanding  all  these  indications  of  the 
sentiment  fast  growing  up  in  the  religious  circles  of 
this  country  to  establish  religion  by  law,  some  are 
still  skeptical  in  regard  to  the  possibility  of  any  such 


240  THE    MARVEL    OF    NATIONS. 

revolution  ;  and  when  we  express  the  opinion  that 
the  majority  of  the  professors  of  religion,  and  others, 
are  to  combine  so  far  as  to  enact  a  general  law  for  the 
observance  of  the  so-called  "Christian"  or  "Ameri 
can"  Sabbath",  we  are  met  with  expressions  of  the  ut 
most  incredulity  in  regard  to  such  a  movement.  A 
law  of  that  kind,  they  say,  can  never  be  carried,  as  it 
would  interfere  with  too  many  kinds  of  business,  and 
there  are  too  many  liberals  and  irreligious  persons  to 
oppose  it.  And  yet  when  pressed  right  down  to  an 
expression  of  their  own  views  in  the  matter,  these 
very  persons  will  take  the  position  that  there  ought 
to  be  such  a  law.  Now  do  they  not  see  -that  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to  have  such  persons  take  their  posi 
tion  and  act,  and  the  requisite  majority  is  secured  ; 
for  they  but  represent  a  feeling  that  generally  pre 
vails. 

An  illustration  in  point  comes  from  a  correspond 
ent,  who  writes  : — 

"In  conversation  with  a  number  of  persons  a  few  days  ago,  I 
stated  our  views  in  regard  to  the  Sunday  movement,  whereupon 
all  ridiculed  the  idea  of  such  a  thing  in  a  country  of  liberty,  mak 
ing  mention  of  railroads,  amusements,  etc.  But  scarcely  five  min 
utes  had  elapsedf  when  all  said  that  they  thought  such  a  law  ought 
to  be  passed,  and  signified  their  willingness  to  vote  for  it !" 

Many  have  been  waiting  with  no  little  interest  to 
hear  Catholics  speak  on  this  question,  querying  what 
position  they  would  assume.  An  incident  which  oc 
curred  in  the  summer  of  1880,  plainly  foreshadowed 
their  policy  in  this  matter.  At  the  time  referred  to, 
S.  V.  Ryan,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  is 
sued  a  circular  denouncing  the  profanation  of  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  and  declaring  that  none  would  be 
recognized  as  Catholics  who  would  not  strictly  ob- 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.         241 

serve  the  Lord's  day.  He  urged  his  plea  solely  on 
the  authority  of  the  Church,  claiming,  truly,  that  the 
day  was  wholly  an  institution  of  the  Church.  Not 
withstanding  this,  the  Christian  World  hastened  to 
welcome  this  new  ally  in  the  Sunday  cause.  Publish 
ing  the  remarkable  document,  which  appeals  to  the 
"  Blessed  Mother"  as  witness  to  its  truth,  the  World 
urges  the  consideration  and  preservation  of  the  cir 
cular,  and  says :— 

"It  would  certainly  furnish  great  ground  of  gratitude  to  every 
truly  pious  heart,  if  we  might  count  upon  the  Roman  Catholic 
ministers  of  religion  as  faithful  allies  in  the  struggle." 

In  reference  to  the  Catholic  claim  that  the  Sunday 
institution  rests  wholly  upon  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  the  World  says  :— 

"The  historical  statement  with  regard  to  the  position  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  on  the  question  of  the  Lord's  day  is,  un 
fortunately,  far  from  correct.  .  .  .  And  yet  we  prefer  to  waive 
an  inquiry  into  the  truth  or  falsity  of  Bishop  Ryan's  claims,  and 
to  congratulate  our  Roman  Catholic  citizens  and  ourselves  on  the 
position  which  some,  at  least,  of  the  prelates  of  this  Church  in 
this  country  are  disposed  to  assume." 

Is  it  not  marvelous  that  a  religious  journal,  profess 
ing  to  be  a  defender  of  the  truth,  should  take  such  a 
position  as  this  ?  Here  is  an  assertion  put  forth  by 
the  great  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy  that  Sunday  is 
an  institution  of  their  Church, — and  Protestants  are 
challenged  to  meet  it, — an  assertion  which,  if  true, 
nullifies  every  claim  of  the  first-day  Sabbath  to  divine 
support,  takes  out  from  under  it  every  prop  which  a 
true  Protestant  would  depend  upon  to  sustain  it,  and 
makes  it  simply  a  human  institution,  not  binding  in 
any  degree  upon  the  consciences  of  men.  In  the  face 
of  such  an  assertion  the  first  question  to  be  settled  is, 

1G 


242  THE    MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

whether  this  claim  is  true  or  not.  But  this  Protestant 
writer  proposes  to  waive  all  inquiry  into  the  matter, 
virtually  saying,  We  care  not  whether  the  claim  is 
true  or  false,  nor  what  the  origin  of  the  institution  is, 
nor  upon  what  authority  it  rests,  if  only  we  can  have 
your  assistance  in  trying  to  carry  our  point,  and  en 
force  it  upon  the  people.  Can  any  one  suppose  that 
the  fear  of  God  and  the  love  of  the  truth  for  the  truth's 
sake,  constitute  the  motive  for  such  a  course  of  action  ? 
In  this  connection  a  reference  to  the  change  of  at 
titude  on  the  part  of  Protestantism  toward  Catholi 
cism,  will  not  be  considered  wholly  a  digression  from 
the  main  argument  ;  for  this  movement  has  a  signifi 
cant  bearing  on  the  question  before  us.  The  "image," 
as  elsewhere  emphasized  in  this  work,  is  to  be  made 
to  the  beast,  Romanism.  This  would  indicate  cordial 
friendliness  toward,  and  a  certain  degree  of  deference 
to,  Catholicism,  on  the  part  of  the  image-making 
power,  which  we  have  shown  to  be  Protestantism. 
And  this  friendliness  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  Protest 
ants,  is  even  now  prominently  manifested  in  some 
quarters.  The  time  was,  and  has  been  all  along  un 
til  within  a  few  years,  when  Protestants  were  Protest 
ants  indeed,  protesting  against  the  errors  and  abuses 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  But  there  seems  to 
be  now  a  widespread  inclination  to  stretch  their  hands 
across  the  chasm  which  has  divided  them,  and  wel 
come  the  Catholic  Church  to  union  and  fellowship, 
not  because  the  Catholics  have  reformed  in  any  of  the 
objectionable  features  of  their  system,  but  because 
Protestants  are  seemingly  becoming  very  indifferent 
to  them.  How  else  can  we  account  for  a  remarkable 
scene  which  took  place  in  Westminster  Abbey,  Oct. 
19,  1884,  when  in  that  professedly  Protestant  sanctu- 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.        243 

ary,  a  procession  of  five  hundred  Catholics  were  ad 
mitted  to  kneel  at  the  shrine  of  Edward  the  Confessor, 
and  pray — for  what  ?  For  the  success  and  good  of 
Protestantism  ? — No  ;  but  for  the  conversion  of  Eng 
land  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  !  This  is  not  mere 
toleration  ;  it  is  surrender. 

Certain  Protestants  in  this  country  seem  inclined 
to  include  all  in  one  Church,  calling  themselves  "the 
Protestant  branch  of  the  great  Catholic  Church." 
But  do  Catholics  propose  to  make  any  concessions, 
and  meet  Protestants  half  way  in  these  fraternal  ges 
tures  ? — Not  at  all.  Protestants  may  go  the  whole 
way  in  the  disgraceful  surrender  of  principles  which 
have  cost  the  struggles  of  three  hundred  years  ;  and 
then  perhaps  the  Catholic  Church  will  receive  them 
back  into  her  bosom  as  erring,  repentant  children. 
But  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  same  to-day  in  its  in 
tolerant  and  blood-thirsty  instincts  that  it  always  has 
been.  It  makes  its  boast  that  it  never  changes.  Once 
let  it  gain  supreme  control  in  this  country,  and  how 
soon  would  every  Protestant  place  of  worship  in  the 
land  be  sealed  up  as  silent  as  the  tomb,  and  every  Bible 
be  banished,  not  from  the  schools  alone,  but  from  the 
homes  and  hands  of  the  people,  and  rigid  conformity 
to  the  Catholic  ritual  alone  be  enforced  by  flood  and 
flame,  dagger  and  dungeon.  To  flatter  ourselves  that 
the  bloody  scenes  of  the  Dark  Ages  were  owing  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  and  not  the  spirit  of  the  Church, 
and  could  not  now  be  repeated  under  Romish  rule,  is 
to  be  not  only  willfully  but  criminally  blind.  And  to 
see  Protestants  shutting  their  eyes  to  these  facts,  and 
virtually  accepting  the  preposterous  pretensions  of 
Catholicism,  is  astonishing  indeed. 

These  movements  on  the  part  of  Protestants  toward 


244  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

fraternity  with  Catholics,  become  very  significant  in 
view  of  the  agitation  of  the  Sunday  question,  which 
is  becoming  so  prominent  in  the  land.  The  Sunday 
rest-day,  being  a  Papal  institution,  will  naturally  claim 
the  support  of  the  Catholics.  And  in  this  thing,  Prot 
estants  who  are  seeking  a  Sunday  law  will  gladly  wel 
come  them  as  allies  ;  and  who  then  can  for  a  moment 
doubt  the  ability  of  these  two  Churches,  the  Protest 
ant  and  Catholic,  to  carry  any  measures  upon  which 
they  might  unite  ? 

According  to  the  Dakota  State  Record,  the  Bishop 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Ohio  speaks  of  "  the  Prot 
estant  portion  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Rome."  He 
proposes  a  union  between  all  Protestant  sects  and 
the  Romish  Church  on  marriage  and  divorce  and  the 
Sabbath  (Sunday).  He  calls  these  (Protestant  sects 
and  the  Romish  Church)  "  every  portion  of  the 
Christian  Church,"  and  thinks  that  "  it  is  within 
reasonable  expectation  "  that  this  "  Christian  Church 
throughout  the  world  will  speak  the  same  language 
on  all  these  moral  issues,"  and  that  "legislation  will 
not  fail  to  follow  the  lead  of  such  a  public  opinion." 

Yes,  if  Protestantism  is  only  a  "  portion  of  the 
Catholic  Church  of  Rome,"  why  should  it  maintain 
the  position  of  a  schismatic,  and  keep  up  the  division  ? 
Why  not  go  back  at  once  to  the  mother  Church  ? 
But  if  that  Catholic  Church  which  is  represented  in 
the  Scriptures  as  a  harlot  woman,  drunken  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints, — a  Church  which  has  harried  a 
hundred  millions  of  innocent  victims  to  their  graves, 
which  has  invented  and  inflicted  upon  the  humble 
followers  of  Christ  horrible  barbarities,  more  in  num 
ber  and  more  fiendish  in  character  than  those  of  all 
heathendom  combined,  from  the  earliest  ages, — if 


INDICATIONS  OF  COMING   CHANGES.         245 

such  a  Church  is  Christian,  God  pity  Christianity  ! 
but  rather  God  pity  the  man  whose  moral  sensibilities 
have  become  so  benumbed  and  paralyzed  that  he  can 
assume  such  an  attitude  toward  this  tragical  burlesque 
of  Christianity  ! 

That  such  words  can  be  spoken  by  Protestants,  and 
such  propositions  be  urged  by  them,  is  one  of  the 
most  alarming  indications  of  the  tendency  of  the 
times. 

With  the  anti-Sunday  movements  of  the  present 
day,  considering  their  associations,  and  the  manner 
and  object  in  and  for  which  they  are  carried  forward, 
we  have  no  sympathy.  They  aim  at  utter  no- 
Sabbathism,  freedom  from  all  moral  restraint,  and  all 
the  evils  of  unbridled  intemperance, — ends  which  we 
abhor  with  all  the  strength  of  a  moral  nature  quick 
ened  by  the  most  intense  religious  convictions.  And 
while  the  indignation  of  the  better  portion  of  the 
community  will  be  aroused  at  the  want  of  religious 
principle  and  the  immorality  attending  the  popular 
anti-Sunday  movements,  a  little  lack  of  discrimination, 
by  no  means  uncommon,  will,  on  account  of  our 
opposition  to  the  Sunday  institution,  though  ^vve 
oppose  it  on  entirely  different  ground,  easily  associate 
us  with  the  classes  above  mentioned,  and  subject  us 
to  the  same  odium. 

We  therefore  here  take  occasion  to  put  on  record 
a  few  words  denning  more  fully  our  position.  We 
wish  it  to  be  understood  that  we  are  in  the  most 
complete  accord  and  the  fullest  sympathy  with  all 
reforms  which  tend  to  restrain  immorality  and  con 
duce  to  the  well-being  of  society.  We  bid  all  tem 
perance  reformers  Godspeed  in  their  noble  efforts. 
WTe  wish  all  success  to  the  great  work  of  rescuing 


246  THE    MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

men  from  the  evils  of  intemperance.  We  wish  all 
crippling,  blighting,  and  paralyzing  influences  to  fall 
upon  the  vile  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors,  above 
and  below,  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  always  and 
everywhere.  We  would  restrain  it,  not  only  on  Sun 
day,  but  on  every  day  of  the  week. 

So,  too,  we  are  in  favor  of  a  divorce  reform,  prison 
reforms,  all  sanitary  reforms,  labor  reform  as  against 
the  encroachments  of  monopolies,  reforms  to  restrain 
cruelty  to  children  and  to  animals,  and  to  prevent  the 
circulation  of  vile,  blasphemous,  or  obscene  matter 
through  the  mails.  We  wish  the  latter  reform  might 
be  extended  also  to  the  publication  and  circulation,  in 
any  manner,  of  the  dime  novel  curse  and  abomination. 
Let  the  law  which  is  designed  to  be  a  safeguard  to 
society,  take  hold  of  all  these  things,  we  care  not  how 
rigidly. 

But  with  these  things,  our  friends  are  unfortunately 
connecting  another  enterprise  as  a  reform,  which  lacks 
the  true  basis  of  all  reforms  ;  namely,  the  divine  sanc 
tion.  They  labor  to  secure  the  enforcement  by  law 
of  a  day  as  the  Sabbath  which  the  Scriptures  nowhere 
declare  to  be  the  Sabbath,  in  opposition  to  the  day 
which  they  do  explicitly  declare  to  be  the  Sabbath. 
Now  we  believe  in  Sabbath  reform  ;  but  we  say,  Let 
us  take  the  day  which  the  Scriptures  everywhere  set 
forth  as  the  divinely-appointed  day  of  rest,  and  se 
cure  its  observance  by  moral  suasion  under  the  sanc 
tions  of  the  divine  law. 

Let  it  be  understood  further  that  we  take  no  ex 
ception  to  laws  in  behalf  of  those  who  conscientiously 
deem  it  their  duty  to  observe  any  day  as  a  day  of 
rest,  so  far  as  to  secure  them  from  any  real  disturb 
ance  on  such  days. 


If  people  wish  to  observe  Sunday,  let  them  then  be 
protected  from  anything  which  would  really  interfere 
with  such  observance.  But  we  say  that  those  who 
have  conscientiously  observed  another  day  as  the 
Sabbath,  should  not  be  compelled  to  keep  Sunday 
also  (all  disturbance  of  course  excepted),  because 
some  one  else  thinks  that  day  is  the  Sabbath,  any 
more  than  the  Sunday-keeper  should  be  compelled  to 
keep  the  seventh  day,  because  we  believe  that  day  is 
the  Sabbath.  An  exemption  should  be  made  to  cover 
such  cases.  To  refuse  this  is  to  strike  a  blow  at  re 
ligious  liberty  in  this  country.  Here  is  the  danger  ; 
and  this  is  the  ground  of  our  protest. 

Meanwhile,  some  see  the  evils  involved  in  this 
movement,  and  raise  the  note  of  alarm.  The  Chris 
tian  Union,  January,  1871,  said  : — 

"  If  the  proposed  amendment  is  anything  more  than  a  bit  of 
sentimental  cant,  it  is  to  have  a  legal  effect.  It  is  to  alter  the 
status  of  the  non-Christian  citizen  before  the  law.  It  is  to  affect 
the  legal  oaths  and  instruments,  the  matrimonial  contracts,  the 
sumptuary  laws,  etc.,  etc.,  of  the  country.  This  would  be  an  out 
rage  on  natural  right/' 

The  Janesville  (Wis.)  Gazette,  at  the  close  of  an  ar 
ticle  on  the  proposed  amendment,  speaks  thus  of  the 
effect  of  the  movement,  should  it  succeed  :— 

"But,  independent  of  the  question  as  to  what  extent  we  are  a 
Christian  nation,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether,  if  the  gentlemen 
who  are  agitating  this  question  should  succeed,  they  would  not  do 
society  a  very  great  injury.  Such  measures  are  but  the  initiatory 
steps  which  ultimately  lead  to  restrictions  of  religious  freedom,  and 
to  commit  the  government  to  measures  which  are  as  foreign  to  its 
powers  and  purposes  as  would  be  its  action  if  it  should  undertake 
to  determine  a  disputed  question  of  theology." 

The  Weekly  Alta  Californian  of  San  Francisco, 
March  12,  18TO,  said:- 


248  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"The  parties  who  have  been  recently  holding  a  Convention  for 
the  somewhat  novel  purpose  of  procuring  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  recognizing  the  Deity,  do  not 
fairly  state  the  case  when  they  assert  that  it  is  the  right  of  a  Chris 
tian  people  to  govern  themselves  in  a  Christian  manner.  If  we 
are  not  governing  ourselves  in  a  Christian  manner,  how  shall  the 
doings  of  our  government  be  designated  ?  The  fact  is,  that  the 
movement  is  one  to  bring  about  in  this  country  that  union  of 
Church  and  State  which  all  other  nations  are  trying  to  dissolve." 

The  New  York  Independent,  February,  1S70,  spoke 
of  the  movement  as  having  the  same  chance  of  suc 
cess  that  a  union  of  Church  and  State  would  have. 

The  Champlain  Journal,  speaking  of  incorporating 
the  religious  principle  into  the  Constitution,  and  its 
effect  upon  the  Jews,  said  :— 

"However  slight,  it  is  the  entering  wedge  of  Church  and  State. 
If  we  may  cut  off  ever  so  few  persons  from  the  right  of  citizen 
ship  on  account  of  difference  of  religious  belief,  then  with  equal 
justice  and  propriety  may  a  majority  at  any  time  dictate  the  adop 
tion  of  still  further  articles  of  belief,  until  our  Constitution  is  but 
the  text- book  of  a  sect  beneath  whose  tyrannical  sway  all  liberty  of 
religious  opinion  will  be  crushed." 

Meanwhile  the  movement  assumes  a  very  harmless 
and  innocent  mien.  What  hurt  can  it  do,  it  is  asked, 
just  to  recognize  God  in  the  Constitution  ?  Who 
could  object  just  to  the  mention  of  the  Supreme  Being 
and  of  Christ  in  our  great  national  charter  ?  We  have 
such  recognition  now,  they  plead,  in  most  of  our  State 
Constitutions,  and  it  does  not  seem  to  work  any  mis 
chief;  why  not  then  put  it  into  the  national  Consti 
tution  ? 

Thus  the  advocates  of  the  religious  amendment  are 
wont  to  reason,  or  at  least  thus  they  seem  pleased  to 
have  other  people  reason,  with  the  hope,  very  appar 
ently,  that  they  will  act  from  that  standpoint,  and 
thus  the  more  readily  give  support  to  their  move- 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING   CHANGES.         240 

ment.  This  feature  comes  out  very  distinctly  in  the 
report  of  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  National  Reform 
Association,  who  has  lately  [1884]  been  laboring  in 
Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

The  object  sought  is  thus  put  in  a  light  which  seems, 
at  first  view,  very  innocent  and  unobjectionable.  But 
let  us  look  at  it  a  little  more  closely,  and  see  if  the 
most  virulent  kind  of  sophistry  is  not  involved  therein. 
If  the  simple  insertion  of  the  names  of  God  and  Christ 
somewhere  in  the  Constitution  is  all  that  is  designed, 
we  inquire  how  that  can  be  a  matter  of  such  impor 
tance  as  to  warrant  such  a  movement  as  is  now  on 
foot  in  its  behalf — the  organization  of  an  association, 
the  issuing  of  books  and  tracts,  the  publication  of  a 
weekly  paper,  the  calling  of  conventions,  the  employ 
ing  of  men  to  devote  the  whole  or  a  part  of  their  time 
to  its  promulgation,  and  the  pouring  out  of  liberal 
contributions  of  money  in  its  support.  All  this  shows 
upon  the  very  face  of  it  that  there  is  something  more 
in  view  than  the  mere  mention  of  God  in  the  Consti 
tution. 

But  further,  if  God  is  already  recognized  in  most  of 
the  State  constitutions,  as  they  acknowledge  is  the 
case,  why  is  not  that  sufficient  ?  Is  he  not  acknowl 
edged  by  all  the  States,  and  thus,  so  far  as  constitu 
tional  action  can  go,  by  all  the  people  of  those  States  ? 
What  is  to  be  gained,  then,  by  putting  his  name  into 
the  Constitution  of  the  nation  ? 

This  brings  us  to  the  real  issue.  They  desire  not 
simply  the  name  of  God  in  the  Constitution,  but  "such 
an  amendment  as  shall  place  all  the  Christian  laws, 
institutions,  and  usages  of  the  government,  on  an  un 
deniable  legal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
land."  They  want  this  because,  as  the  case  now 


250  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATION'S. 

stands,  if  attempt  is  made  through  any  State  laws  to 
enforce  religious  enactments,  appeal  can  be  taken  to 
the  higher  court,  and  such  efforts  can  be  shown  to  be 
unconstitutional.  It  is  just  because  the  recognition 
of  God  in  the  State  constitutions  is  thus  liable  to  be 
rendered  inoperative,  because  religious  enactments 
under  State  laws  are  virtually  null  and  void,  that  they 
want  to  get  a  sure  foot-hold  in  the  national  Constitu 
tion,  the  highest  source  of  authority  in  the  land.  And 
then  our  whole  relation  to  religious  matters  would 
very  speedily  assume  a  different  complexion  ;  for  they 
desire  such  an  arrangement  that  men  can  be  coerced 
into  compliance  with  what  the  majority  shall  decide 
to  be  religious  customs.  For  instance,  they  declare — 
and  for  this  we  have  their  own  explicit  language — 
that,  this  amendment  once  secured,  no  one  who  does 
not  strictly  observe  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the 
Sabbath,  shall  hold  any  public  office  under  this  gov 
ernment  ;  and  that  any  corporation  which  will  not 
thus  regard  it,  shall  immediately  forfeit  its  charter  ! 
Now  look  at  the  method  of  reasoning  they  conde 
scend  to  adopt  in  this  matter  :  God  is  recognized  in 
State  constitutions,  and  no  mischief  comes  of  it  ; 
therefore  no  man  should  be  afraid  to  have  him  recog 
nized  in  the  national  Constitution.  But  why  does  no 
mischief  come  of  his  recognition  by  State  constitu 
tions  ? — Because  such  recognition  not  existing  in  the 
national  Constitution,  the  recognition  by  the  State 
cannot  be  used  to  enforce  religious  tests  in  national 
affairs.  And  what  do  they  intend  to  gain  by  such  a 
recognition  in  the  national  Constitution  ?  Answer: 
To  put  matters  in  such  a  shape  that  religious  tests 
can  be  enforced.  But  this  would  at  once  reverse  the 
situation,  and  transform  all  their  reasoning  into  a 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING  CHANGES.         251 

falsehood  and  a  snare.  If  such  enforcement  as  they 
are  laboring  for  could  now  be  had  by  the  recognition 
of  religious  customs  by  the  State  constitutions,  no 
one  could  say  that  no  mischief  came  of  it  ;  and  if  these 
men  could  do  under  State  constitutions  what  they  de 
sire  to  do,  they  would  seek  for  no  amendment  of  the 
general  Constitution.  But  now  they  appeal  to  the 
harmless  nature  of  State  constitutions  on  points  where 
they  are  inoperative,  to  quiet  men's  fears  and  lead 
them  to  amend  the  national  Constitution  in  such  a 
manner  as  will  make  these  State  enactments  operative, 
where  they  are  not  now,  and  thus  change  the  whole 
complexion  of  their  action.  In  other  words,  their 
reasoning  is  virtually  this  :  Because  a  tiger  caged  can 
do  no  harm,  therefore  we  need  not  fear  to  take  such 
action  as  will  uncage  him,  and  let  him  loose  upon  the 
community,  and  it  is  our  duty  so  to  do. 

Is  such  reasoning  fair  and  honest  ?  Is  it  not  rather 
the  wickedest  kind  of  sophistry  ?  Their  only  chance 
of  success  in  such  reasoning  is  that  people  preoccu 
pied  with  other  things  will  not  stop  to  consider  the 
movement  sufficiently  to  see  its  true  intent,  as  was 
doubtless  the  case  with  some  prominent  citizens  of 
Lincoln,  whom  the  secretary  reported  himself  as  in 
terviewing,  and  who  he  claimed  gave  the  movement 
their  sanction.  Well  did  the  editor  of  the  Nebraska 
State  Journal  think  there  was  recognition  enough  in 
the  Constitution  already,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Gregory  ques 
tion  the  propriety  of  advancing  moral  reforms  by  legal 
enactments,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Ingram  express  alarm  lest 
the  movement  meant  a  union  of  Church  and  State. 

Another  argument  used  by  the  advocates  of  the 
amendment  against  our  government  as  now  consti 
tuted,  must  be  abhorrent  to  every  unvitiated  Amer- 


252  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

ican  patriot.  It  is  that  the  doctrine  that  governments 
derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned,  is  a  false  principle.  At  the  Cleveland  (O.) 
Convention  of  the  National  Reform  Association,  held 
in  December,  1883,  one  of  the  speakers  attacked  the 
statement  as  found  in  our  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  and  which  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  our  na 
tional  polity,  that  governments  "  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,"  and  with 
a  bitterness  which  was  truly  surprising,  denounced  it 
as  "  the  old  Philadelphia  lie."  In  defense  of  his  posi 
tion,  he  rung  the  changes  on  such  questions  as  these  : 
How  could  a  past  generation  " consent"  for  the  pres 
ent  ?  And  how  many  of  those  now  living  under  this 
government  have  actually  "consented"  to  it?  How 
do  minors  "  consent "  to  it  ?  And  what  criminal  would 
"consent"  to  the  government? 

Such  sophistry  is  well  answered  by  Jos.  P.  Thomp 
son,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  in  a  lecture  on  the  "Doctrine  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,"  in  which  he  says  :— 

"*  Where/ asks  Mr.  Jefferson,  'shall  we  find  the  origin  of  just 
powers,  if  not  in  the  majority  of  society  ?  Will  it  be  in  the  mi 
nority  ?  or  in  an  individual  of  that  minority  ?'  This  is  the  key  to 
the  statement  of  the  Declaration,  that  governments  'derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.'  He  was  not  think 
ing  of  a  poll  of  equal  rights,  that  each  individual  as  an  '  inaliena 
ble  '  voter  might  '  consent '  to  be  governed  thus  or  so,  but  of  the 
community,  the  political  society,  in  some  method  of  its  own,  fram 
ing,  commissioning,  or  consenting  to,  the  government  under  which 
it  should  live  ;  and  in  this  view  of  its  meaning,  this  statement  of 
the  Declaration,  like  those  that  precede  it,  is  also  true,  and  of  deep 
and  far-reaching  significance  for  governments  and  for  mankind." 

He  then  draws  from  the  history  of  both  England 
and  France,  facts  in  confirmation  of  this  view,  and 
adds : — 


THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

"The  attachment  of  a  people  to  their  government  may  be  vari 
able  ;  their  sentiment  toward  officers  and  policy  may  change  with 
men  and  measures  ;  their  loyalty  may  be  that  of  enthusiastic  devo 
tion,  of  calm  acquiescence,  or  of  patient  endurance  ;  but  there  in 
heres  in  every  body  politic  a  latent  right  of  revolution  ;  and,  so 
long  as  the  people  do  not  revive  this  right,  the  government  de 
facto  is  presumed  to  hold  its  powers  with  '  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned.'" —  The  United  States  as  a  Nation,  pp.  82-84. 

The  idea  expressed  by  the  Cleveland  speaker  was 
that  all  government  being  derived  from  God,  its  re 
quirements  were  to  be  made  known  by  properly  con 
stituted  agents,  and  all  that  the  governed  had  to  do 
was  to  quietly  submit ;  their  "consent"  was  not  to  be 
taken  into  the  account  at  all.  Had  this  man  been 
arguing,  under  some  benighted  tyranny,  for  the  "  di 
vine  right  of  kings,"  instead  of  standing  amid  the 
manifold  blessings  and  privileges  secured  by  this  Re 
public,  and  denouncing  the  principles  of  its  constitu 
tion,  after  more  than  one  hundred  years  of  such  uni 
form  and  unbounded  prosperity,  as  no  other  nation 
of  the  earth  had  ever  enjoyed,  his  statements  would 
not  have  seemed  quite  so  astounding. 

It  may  still  be  asked,  Has  not  the  State  the  right 
to  make  a  law  that  one  day  in  the  week  shall  be  kept 
as  a  day  of  rest  ?  and  would  it  not  be  the  duty  of  all 
citizens  to  obey  such  a  law,  when  made?  Answer: 
The  State  has  a  right  to  legislate  in  reference  to  all 
the  relations  that  exist  between  man  and  man,  to 
protect  and  secure  the  just  rights  of  each.  It  has  a 
right,  therefore,  to  legislate  in  regard  to  such  crimes 
against  society  as  Mormon  polygamy,  though  prac 
ticed  under  the  name  of  religion,  against  intemper 
ance,  and  against  some  forms  of  worship  which  pagans 
under  the  sanction  of  their  religion,  might  introduce 
upon  our  shores.  But  in  matters  purely  religious, 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.          255 

matters  of  conscience  between  man  and  his  Maker, 
which  in  no  wise  encroach  upon  the  rights  of  others, 
the  State  has  no  right  to  interfere.  It  is  going  be 
yond  its  legitimate  province  when  it  does  so.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  recognizes  this 
truth,  when,  in  the  first  amendment,  it  provides  that 
"  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish 
ment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thereof." 

But  in  the  matter  of  the  Sabbath,  God  himself  has 
already  promulgated  a  law  ;  and  certainly  the  State 
has  no  right  to  interfere  with  that.  It  is  replied  that 
the  State  does  not  propose  to  interfere  with  that,  but 
only  to  establish  a  day  of  rest  as  a  "  civil  institution" 
for  the  good  of  society.  This  will  do  as  a  film  behind 
which  to  try  to  hide  ;  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  con 
ceal  the  true  motive.  Speakers  and  writers  alike  cry 
out  for  a  better  observance  of  the  Sabbath  as  they  call 
the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  resting  upon  any  day 
merely  as  a  requirement  of  the  State,  as  a  "sanitary 
measure,"  a  "police  regulation,"  is  in  no  sense  the 
keeping  of  a  Sabbath  as  an  act  of  worship  offered  to 
Heaven.  Again,  they  urge  it  as  a  measure  to  secure 
a  better  state  of  morality.  Here  again  the  religious 
idea,  which  is  the  underlying  principle  in  this  move 
ment,  crops  out. 

There  is  one  remarkable  fact  to  be  noticed  in  all 
this  agitation  ;  namely,  however  much  a  day  of  rest 
may  be  urged  as  a  "civil  institution,"  a  "police  regu 
lation,"  etc.,  as  if  it  was  not  a  religious  matter,  the 
day  selected  for  the  rest-day  is  always  Sunday.  Why 
is  this  ?  Will  any  one  be  willing  to  confess  himself  so 
obtuse  as  not  to  know  that  it  is  because  the  majority 
regard  Sunday,  in  a  religious  sense,  as  the  Sabbath  ? 


256  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

And  this  at  once  discriminates  against  those  who  ob 
serve  the  seventh  day,  inasmuch  as,  being  obliged  to 
keep  another  day  also,  they  are  deprived  of  one-sixth 
of  their  time,  and,  if  laboring  men,  of  one-sixth  of 
their  means  of  support,  on  account  solely  of  the  relig 
ious  prejudices  of  other  people.  This  strikes  at  the 
very  root  of  religious  liberty. 

If  any  deny  this,  and  insist  that  the  object  is  to  be 
absolutely  impartial  and  fair,  the  matter  can  be  tested 
by  the  following  proposition  :  Let  some  day  be  se 
lected  as  the  State  rest-day,  which  neither  party  re 
gards  as  the  Sabbath  by  divine  appointment.  Take 
for  instance  Tuesday.  Now  we,  having  kept  the  sev 
enth  day,  could  keep  Tuesday  on  the  same  ground 
that  the  Sunday-keeper,  having  observed  the  first  day, 
could  keep  Tuesday  also.  Here  would  be  equality, 
one  class  not  being  discriminated  against  more  than 
another.  But  how  many  Sunday-keepers  would  agree 
to  this  ?  No  ;  they  would  say,  having  kept  Sunday, 
what  is  the  use  of  our  keeping  Tuesday  ?  Exactly. 
And  so  we  say,  After  having  kept  the  seventh  day, 
what  is  the  use  of  our  keeping  the  first  day  ? 

If  any  are  still  disposed  to  query  why  we  should 
object  to  a  general  Sunday  law,  we  reply  further  that 
to  such  a  law,  in  itself  considered,  we  do  not  object. 
People  may  make  as  many  Sunday  laws  as  they  please 
for  themselves,  and  of  just  such  kinds  as  they  please. 
We  do  not  ask  the  repeal  of  any  now  existing  Sunday 
law.  We  only  ask  that  those  who  have  conscien 
tiously  observed  the  seventh  day,  in  compliance  with 
the  law  of  God,  which  says  that  "  the  seventh  day  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  it  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,"  and  with  the  physiological  law  of  rest, 
which  demands  one  day  of  rest  in  seven, — we  ask  that 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES          257 

such  shall  be  exempted  from  the  requirements  of  the 
Sunday  law,  and  be  allowed  to  go  quietly  and  peace 
ably  about  their  labor  in  obedience  to  the  same  law 
of  God  which  says,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor." 

And  we  imagine  we  hear  many  responding,  "  Oh, 
yes  !  that  is  fair  ;  that  is  just  ;  and  of  course  you  will 
be  guaranteed  that  privilege."  But  this  is  just  what 
those  who  are  now  so  loudly  clamoring  for  a  Sunday 
law  do  not  intend  to  grant  ;  and  this  is  what  we  want 
the  people  to  understand.  On  this  point  we  have 
tangible  evidence. 

Most  of  the  States  have  exemption  clauses  in  their 
Sunday  laws  in  favor  of  observers  of  the  seventh  day. 
Pennsylvania  has  no  such  exemption  ;  but  she  has  an 
old,  unrepealed  Sunday  law  of  1'TO-i  upon  her  statute 
books.  Taking  advantage  of  this  state  of  things, 
some  evil  disposed  persons  have  caused  the  repeated 
oppression,  by  fine  and  imprisonment,  of  a  certain 
Seventh-day  Baptist'*  in  that  State,  for  quietly  work 
ing  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  after  having  consci 
entiously  and  scripturally  observed  the  seventh  day. 


*  The  person  referred  to  is  D.  C.  Waldo,  of  Venango,  Pa.  Being  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Seventh-day  Baptist  Church,  he  conscientiously  and  religiously 
observes  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath.  Having  done  this,  he 
deems  it  his  duty  to  go  quietly  about  his  legitimate  business  upon  the  first 
day,  in  obedience  to  the  same  high  law  which  says,  "  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor."  He  owns  a  planing-mill  in  an  isolated  country  position,  more  than 
two  miles  from  any  first-day  meeting-house.  Yet  under  the  old  1794  law 
of  Pennsylvania  he  has  been  twice  prosecuted  for  thus  laboring  on  Sunday. 
The  last  time  he  appealed  to  the  higher  court,  at  a  cost  to  himself  in 
money,  besides  his  time  and  trouble,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  But 
the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  sustained.  And  thus  this  man  suffers 
for  his  religious  opinions,  under  a  government  which  guarantees  to  every 
man  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  con 
science.  One  other  person  besides  Mr.  Waldo  has  also  been  prosecuted  in 
that  place.  17 


258  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

Seeing  the  injustice  of  such  proceedings,  a  few  no 
ble  souls  have  labored  to  secure  an  act,  not  repealing 
the  law,  but  simply  exempting  observers  of  the  sev 
enth  day  from  its  operation.  In  1881-82  this  lacked 
only  one  vote  of  becoming  a  law.  But  in  1882-83  the 
same  bill  was  defeated  by  the  surprising  majority  of 
130  against  37.  Thus  Pennsylvania  hugs  her  disgrace. 
But  what  had  wrought  this  change  between  the  win 
ter  of  1881-82  and  that  of  1882-83  ?  One  important 
influence  at  least,  we  think,  may  be  seen  in  the  fol 
lowing  fact  : — 

While  the  bill  (No.  122)  was  pending  at  the  last- 
named  session  of  the  Legislature,  some  zealous  Sun 
day  man  placed  a  copy  of  it  in  the  hands  of  Hon. 
Felix  R.  Brunot,  President  of  the  National  Reform 
Association,  and  Elliott  E.  Swift,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa. 
They  immediately  sent  a  copy  of  the  bill  to  the  Com 
mercial  Gazette  of  that  city,  with  the  accompanying 
note  : — 

"The  following  bill,  No.  122,  has  just  been  handed  us  with  the 
statement  that  it  has  already  passed  the  second  reading  in  the  Leg 
islature  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  enactment  will  lead  toward  the  de 
struction  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  in  this  Commonwealth.  It  is 
very  desirable  that  the  bill  should  be  understood  by  our  people, 
and  that  numerous  and  emphatic  protests  be  adopted  and  for 
warded  immediately.  We  therefore  request  you  to  publish  it." 

The  animus  of  this  note  is  not  to  be  mistaken.  No 
effort  is  made  to  repeal  the  Sunday  law,  but  simply 
(mark  it !)  to  provide  exemption  for  those  who  con 
scientiously  keep  the  seventh  day  ;  and  this  man,  who 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  National  Reform  Associa 
tion,  utters  a  vigorous  and  emphatic  protest — the  ex 
emption  must  not  be  granted  !  and  he  calls  upon  "  our 
[his]  people,"  to  protest  likewise.  Ring  it  out  through 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING    CHANGES.          259 

all  the  land,  that  a  conscientious  Christian  man  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  who  believes  that  the  seventh 
day  is  the  Sabbath,  as  the  Bible  declares,  and  keeps 
it  as  such,  wishes  the  privilege  of  quietly  following 
his  labor  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  unmolested  by 
the  law  which  those  who  believe  in  keeping  Sunday, 
which  he  does  not  believe  in,  have  made  for  them 
selves  ;  and  the  man  who  stands  as  the  representative 
of  that  Association  which  is  calling  for  a  national 
Sunday  law,  thunders  out,  to  the  extent  of  his  ability, 
a  relentless  No  !  the  privilege  must  not  be  granted  ; 
it  will  wrork  "  the  destruction  of  the  Christian  Sab 
bath." 

Does  the  thoughtful  reader  suppose  that  when  such 
men  gain  the  power,  seventh-day  keepers  anywhere 
will  be  exempted  ? — Not  at  all. 

In  reference  to  the  probable  future  of  the  religious 
amendment  movement,  Eld.  W.  H.  Littlejohn,  in  the 
Sabbath  Sentinel  of  May,  1884,  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  The  National  Reform  party  is  confident  of  ultimate  success. 
The  men  who  are  behind  it  are  not  enthusiasts  to  that  extent  that 
they  anticipate  an  easy  victory,  or  one  which  is  to  be  realized  im 
mediately.  Composed  as  the  leaders  are  of  men  of  learning  and 
experience,  their  practiced  eyes,  while  seeing  with  distinctness  the 
goal  of  their  ambition,  are  able  to  measure  the  distance  between 
it  and  themselves  with  tolerable  accuracy.  Surveying  the  field  of 
contest  with  a  coolness  and  penetration  characteristic  of  .experi 
enced  politicians,  they  have  cautiously  estimated  the  strength  of 
the  positions  of  their  enemies  and  the  measure  of  their  own  re 
sources.  Having  been  active  participants  in  what  is  termed  the 
great  moral  contest  of  the  recent  past,  they  have  studied  the  ele 
ments  which  rendered  them  successful ;  and  they  feel  assured  that 
the  struggle  in  which  they  are  engaged  is  equally  moral  in  its  char 
acter,  and  therefore  certain  to  triumph  sooner  or  later.  Perceiv 
ing  that  the  success  of  the  great  anti-slavery  contest  was  assured 
the  moment  it  secured  for  itself  the  support,  generally  speaking, 
of  the  pulpits  of  the  land,  they  very  naturally  infer  that,  whenever 


260  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

they  shall  be  able  to  enlist  the  same  pulpits  in  the  interests  of  a 
movement  which  to  their  minds  is  as  certainly  favored  of  Heaven 
as  was  the  one  in  question,  the  realization  of  their  expectation  will 
not  be  far  removed. 

"With  them,  therefore,  the  whole  matter  turns  upon  the  cap 
ture  of  the  ministry  of  the  nation.  To  that  end  all  their  efforts 
are  directed  at  the  present  time.  If  they  succeed,  there  is  no 
power  that  can  stand  before  them.  It  must  be  admitted  also  that 
the  probability  that  they  will  ultimately  secure  the  active  support 
and  co-operation  of  the  clergy  and  the  Churches,  judging  from 
present  appearances,  is  very  strong.  They  are  active  and  untiring 
in  their  efforts,  while  those  in  the  Churches  and  outside  of  the 
Churches  who  ought  to  be  alive  to  the  dangers  of  the  situation 
have  but  little  or  nothing  to  say  in  the  direction  of  sounding  the 
alarm.  One  by  one  the  representative  bodies  of  the  different  de 
nominations  are  roped  into  the  National  Reform  movement,  and 
induced  by  resolutions  or  otherwise  to  commit  themselves  and 
those  for  whom  they  speak  to  an  indorsement  of  it.  In  a  single 
year  ten  Methodist  Conferences  were  induced  to  give  hearty  ap 
proval  to  the  movement,  and  five  thousand  copies  of  the  Christian 
Statesman — the  organ  of  the  party — were  sent  to  as  many  clergy 
men.  Besides  the  papers  spoken  of  and  a  flood  of  other  publica 
tions,  with  which  the  country  is  being  inundated,  and  all  bearing 
upon  the  same  general  subject,  ministers  and  lecturers  have  been 
traversing  the  continent  from  Maine  to  California,  speaking  in 
the  interest  of  the  so-called  Reform. 

"When  it  is  remembered  that  there  is  to  the  average  Christian 
mind  a  wonderful  fascination  in  the  thought  of  becoming  a  cham 
pion  in  the  conflict  for  the  recognition  of  the  names  of  God 
and  Christ  in  the  Constitution  of  the  nation  ;  and  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  it  is  a  comparatively  easy  task  for  a  polished 
orator  to  make  his  uninformed  hearers  believe  that  God  will  hold 
them  responsible  for  the  desecration  of  a  day  that  from  childhood 
they  have  been  taught  to  believe  was  holy  time, — it  will  be  per 
ceived  that  if  not  opposed  with  vigor  in  this  work,  it  will  be  com 
paratively  easy  for  a  few  energetic  and  determined  spirits  to 
arouse  in  favor  of  their  enterprise  an  enthusiasm  which  will 
sweep  everything  before  it. 

"Never  did  a  party  have  a  more  thrilling  war-cry  than  in  the 
words,  "  The  names  of  God  and  Christ  in  the  Constitution,  the  read- 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING   CHANGES.          261 

ing  of  the  Bible  in  the  common  schools,  and  the  enforcement  of  the 
Sunday  laws."  All  three  of  these  projects  are  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  commend  themselves  to  Christians  generally,  unless  they  can 
be  shown  that  these  same  projects  cannot  be  realized  without  im 
periling  the  government  and  doing  great  injustice  to  certain 
classes  of  our  citizens. 

"Nor  are  professed  Christians  alone  in  this.  Outside  the  pale 
of  the  Churches  are  multitudes  of  men  and  women  who,  though 
not  professedly  Christians,  are  nevertheless  very  friendly  to  what 
they  believe  to  be  Christian  institutions,  and  who  are  ready  at  all 
times  to  support  them  by  voice  and  vote,  whenever  they  can  do  so 
without  making  a  public  profession  of  religion.  These  persons, 
unless  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  tendency  of  the  proposed  legis 
lation,  are  certain  to  enlist  under  the  banners  of  the  new  party. 

"There  is  also  another  feature  of  this  subject  that  is  worthy  of 
attention.  Aside  from  Seventh-day  Adventists  and  Seventh-day 
Baptists,  the  apathy  of  those  Christians  even  who  are  at  heart  op 
posed  to  the  purposes  of  the  National  Reform  party,  is  so  complete 
that  the  public  are  not  apprised  of  their  real  feelings.  On  the 
other  hand,  infidels  and  atheists  are  so  out-spoken  in  their  hostility  to 
that  party  that  the  casual  observer,  unaware  of  the  efforts  of  the 
two  denominations  spoken  of  above,  naturally  concludes  that  the 
contest  is  wholly  between  believers  and  unbelievers.  This  fact 
acts  very  much  to  the  prejudice  of  those  who  are  standing  man 
fully  for  the  right.  Indeed,  this  is  so  true  that  it  will  be  apparent 
to  any  intelligent  observer  that  the  supporters  of  the  amendment 
movement  are  already  gaining  no  inconsiderable  advantage  by 
trying  to  make  it  appear  that  the  opponents  of  their  work  £,re 
found  almost  wholly  among  the  enemies  of  God.  In  a  short  time 
they  will  add  to  the  benefits  of  a  fascinating  war-cry  the  advantage 
that  is  derived  from  hopelessly  fastening  upon  an  antagonist  an 
opprobrious  epithet.  While  as  a  matter  of  fact  Seventh-day  Ad 
ventists  and  Seventh-day  Baptists  are  what  they  are  because  of 
their  strict  adherence  to  the  word  of  God,  and  while  they  are 
noted  for  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  temperance,  they  will 
nevertheless  be  classed  with  the  frequenters  of  beer  gardens,  and 
with  such  men  as  Abbott  and  Ingersoll,  whose  principles  they  de 
test. 

"Unless  men  of  every  denomination  shall  speedily  cross  over 
the  line  of  indifference,  and  unite  in  an  effort  to  enlighten  the  public 
mind  in  reference  to  the  true  nature  of  the  proposed  legislation 


THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

by  the  general  government  in  matters  of  religion,  it  will  be  for 
ever  too  late.  The  drift  is  altogether  in  the  wrong  direction. 
The  Churches  once  practically  captured,  the  end  will  not  be  far 
off.  Sabbatarians,  though  right  in  regard  to  the  true  Sabbath, 
and  deeply  in  earnest  in  their  endeavors  to  stem  the  tide  which  is 
sweeping  in  the  direction  of  uniting  Church  and  State,  are  too  few 
in  numbers  to  avert  that  calamity.  In  the  tempest  of  passion 
which  is  soon  to  be  raised  over  this  subject,  their  voices  will  be 
lost  unless  they  receive  immediate  help  from  their  fellow-Chris 
tians,  and  the  battle  for  religious  liberty  will  be  lost,  So  far  as 
atheists  and  infidels  are  concerned,  they  are  incapable  of  holding 
the  field  against  the  systematic  attacks  of  the  thoroughly  drilled 
and  perfectly  organized  armies  of  the  orthodox  Churches.  The 
decision  of  the  question  will  be  simply  one  of  time.  The  hosts  of 
the  Reform  party  will  enter  the  halls  of  the  capitol,  and  take  into 
their  hands  the  reins  of  government.  History  will  repeat  itself. 
Intoxicated  with  success,  and  ambitious  for  the  complete  realiza 
tion  of  their  long  cherished  plan  of  placing  all  Christian  laws  and 
usages  of  the  government  upon  an  "undeniable  legal  basis,"  they 
will  commence  to  enact  laws  to  secure  that  end.  When  this  is 
done,  resistance  to  their  plans  will  no  longer  be  tolerated.  Inter 
preting  their  success  as  a  token  of  Divine  favor,  they  will  never 
pause  in  their  career  until  they  have  added  another  to  the  long 
list  of  governments  in  which  religious  liberty  has  been  sacrificed 
on  the  altar  of  blind  fanaticism. 

"Reader,  would  you  avert  such  a  misfortune  as  long  as  pos 
sible  ?  Then  strike  hands  with  those  who  are  struggling  hard  for 
the  same  purpose.  Have  you  looked  with  innocent  pride  at  the 
grand  old  ship  of  State  which  for  a  hundred  years  has  been  the 
object  of  universal  admiration,  and  the  hope  of  the  regions  where 
religious  intolerance  and  political  oppression  have  acted  like  a 
blight  and  a  mildew  on  the  national  life?  Then  remember  that 
the  hands  which  have  held  the  helm  of  that  noble  craft  thus  far 
have  all  been  lifted  to  Heaven  in  attestation  of  a  solemn  vow  to 
preserve  and  carry  out  a  Constitution  which  provides  that  "Con 
gress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  Do  you  think  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  allow  the  majestic  old  ship  to  pass  under  the  control  of 
those  who  would  turn  her  prow  away  from  the  course  she  has 
hitherto  pursued,  directing  her  into  unexplored  seas,  filled  with 


INDICATIONS   OF   COMING    CHANGES.          263 

dangerous  rocks  and  tossed  by  fierce  tempests  ?  If  so,  throw 
your  personal  influence  against  a  political  organization  that  seeks 
to  do  the  very  thing  which  you  so  much  dread." 

For  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  in  the  strict 
mediaeval  form  and  sense,  we  do  not  look.  In  place 
of  this,  we  apprehend  that  what  is  called  "the  image," 
a  creation  as  strange  as  it  is  unique,  comes  in,  not  as 
a  State  Church,  supported  by  the  government,  and 
the  Church  in  turn  controlling  the  State,  but  as  an 
ecclesiastical  establishment  empowered  by  the  State 
to  enforce  its  own  decrees  by  civil  penalties  ;  which, 
in  all  its  practical  bearings^w.il^.amount  to  exactly 
the  same  thing. 

fe  BAHCRCf?  UBRA«Y       . 

Some  one  may  now  say,  As  you  expect  this  move 
ment  to  carry,  you  must  look  for  a  period  of  religious 
persecution  in  this  country  ;  nay,  more,  you  must 
take  the  position  that  all  the  saints  of  God  are  to  be 
put  to  death  ;  for  the  image  is  to  cause  that  all  who 
will  not  worship  it  shall  be  killed. 

There  would,  perhaps,  be  some  ground  for  such  a 
conclusion,  were  we  not  elsewhere  informed  that  in 
the  dire  conflict  God  does  not  abandon  his  people  to 
defeat,  but  grants  them  a  complete  victory  over  the 
beast,  his  image,  his  mark,  and  the  number  of  his 
name.  Rev.  15  :  2.  We  further  read  respecting  this 
earthly  power,  that  he  causeth  all  to  receive  a  mark 
in  their  right  hand  or  in  their  foreheads  ;  yet  chapter 
20  : 4  speaks  of  the  people  of  God  as  those  who  do 
not  receive  the  mark,  nor  worship  the  image.  If, 
then,  he  could  "  cause  "  all  to  receive  the  mark,  and 
yet  all  not  actually  receive  it,  in  like  manner  his 
causing  all  to  be  put  to  death  who  will  not  worship 
the  image  does  not  necessarily  signify  that  their  lives 
are  actually  to  be  taken. 


264  THE   MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

But  how  can  this  be  ?  Answer:  It  evidently  conies 
under  that  rule  of  interpretation  in  accordance  with 
which  verbs  of  action  sometimes  signify  merely  the 
will  and  endeavor  to  do  the  action  in  question,  and 
not  the  actual  performance  of  the  thing  specified. 
The  late  George  Bush,  Professor  of  Hebrew  and 
Oriental  Literature  in  New  York  City  University, 
makes  this  matter  plain.  In  his  notes  on  Ex.  7"  : 11 
he  says : — 

"  It  is  a  canon  of  interpretation  of  frequent  use  in  the  exposi 
tion  of  the  sacred  writings  that  verbs  of  action  sometimes  signify 
merely  the  will  and  endeavor  to  do  the  action  in  question.  Thus 
in  Eze.  24  : 13  :  'I  have  purified  thee,  and  thou  wast  not  purged  ;' 
i.  e.,  I  have  endeavored,  used  means,  been  at  pains,  to  purify  thee. 
John  5  : 44  :  'How  can  ye  believe  which  receive  honor  one  of  an 
other  ;'  i,  e.,  endeavor  to  receive.  Rom.  2:4:  'The  goodness  of 
God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ;'  i.  e.,  endeavors,  or  tends,  to  lead 
thee.  Amos  9:3:  'Though  they  be  Jiid  from  my  sight  in  the  bot 
tom  of  the  sea  ;'  i.  e.,  though  they  aim  to  be  hid.  1  Cor.  10  :33  : 
'  I  please  all  men  ; '  i.  e.,  endeavor  to  please.  Gal.  5:4:  'Whoso 
ever  of  you  are  justified  by  the  law  ;'  i.  e.,  seek  and  endeavor  to  be 
justified.  Ps.  69:4:  '  They  that  destroy  me  are  mighty  ; '  i.  e.,  that 
endeavor  to  destroy  me.  Eng.,  'That  would  destroy  me.'  Acts  7: 
26  :  '  And  set  them  at  one  again  ; '  i.  e,,  wished  and  endeavored. 
Eng.,  '  Would  have  set  them.'" 

So  in  the  passage  before  us.  He  causes  all  to  re 
ceive  a  mark,  and  all  who  will  not  worship  the  image 
to  be  killed  ;  that  is,  he  wills,  purposes,  and  endeavors 
to  do  this.  He  makes  such  an  enactment,  passes  such 
a  law,  but  is  not  able  to  execute  it  ;  for  God  interposes 
in  behalf  of  his  people  ;  and  then  those  who  have 
kept  the  word  of  Christ's  patience  are  kept  from  fall 
ing  in  this  hour  of  temptation,  according  to  Rev.  3  : 
10  ;  then  those  who  have  made  God  their  refuge  are 
kept  from  all  evil,  and  no  plague  comes  nigh  their 
dwelling,  according  to  Ps.  91 : 9,  10  ;  then  all  who  are 


INDICATIONS  OF   COMING    CHANGES.          265 

found  written  in  the  book  are  delivered,  according  to 
Dan.  ID  :  1 ;  and,  being  victors  over  the  beast  and  his 
image,  they  arc  redeemed  from  among  men,  and  raise 
a  song  of  triumph  before  the  throne  of  God,  according 
to  Rev.  14:4;  15:2. 

The  objector  may  further  say,  You  are  altogether 
too  credulous  in  supposing  that  all  the  skeptics  of 
our  land,  the  Spiritualists,  the  German  infidels,  and 
the  irreligious  masses  generally,  can  be  so  far  brought 
to  favor  the  religious  observance  of  Sunday  that  a 
general  law  can  be  promulgated  in  its  behalf. 

The  answer  is,  The  prophecy  must  be  fulfilled,  and 
if  the  prophecy  requires  such  a  revolution,  it  will  be 
accomplished.  But  we  do  not  know  that  it  is  neces 
sary.  Permit  the  suggestion  of  an  idea  which,  though 
it  is  only  conjecture,  may  show  how  enough  can  be 
accomplished  to  fulfill  the  prophecy  without  involving 
the  classes  mentioned.  This  movement,  as  has  been 
shown,  must  originate  with  the  Churches  of  our  land, 
and  be  carried  forward  by  them.  They  wish  to  en 
force  certain  practices  upon  all  the  people ;  and  it  would 
be  very  natural  that  in  reference  to  those  points  re 
specting  which  they  wish  to  influence  the  outside 
masses,  they  should  see  the  necessity  of  first  having 
absolute  conformity  among  all  the  evangelical  de 
nominations.  They  could  not  expect  to  influence 
non-religionists  to  any  great  degree  on  questions 
respecting  which  they  were  divided  among  themselves. 
So,  then,  let  union  be  had  on  those  views  and  prac 
tices  which  the  great  majority  already  entertain.  To 
this  end,  coercion  may  first  be  attempted.  But  here 
are  a  few  who  cannot  possibly  attach  to  the  observance 
of  the  first  day,  which  the  majority  wish  to  secure^ 
any  religious  obligation  ;  and  would  it  be  anything 


266  THE  MARVEL    OF  NATIONS. 

strange  for  the  sentence  to^be  given,  Let  these  few 
factionists  be  made  to  conform,  by  persuasion  if  pos 
sible,  by  force  ii  necessary  ?  Thus  the  blow  may  fall 
on  conscientious  commandment-keepers  before  the 
outside  masses  are  involved  in  the  issue  at  all.  And 
should  events  take  this  not  improbable  turn,  it  would 
be  sufficient  to  meet  the  prophecy,  and  leave  no 
ground  for  the  objection  proposed. 

To  receive  the  mark  of  the  beast  in  the  forehead, 
is,  we  understand,  to  give  the  assent  of  the  mind  and 
judgment  to  his  authority  in  the  adoption  of  that  in 
stitution  which  constitutes  the  mark.  By  parity  of 
reasoning,  to  receive  it  in  the  hand  would  be  to 
signify  allegiance  by  some  outward  act,  perhaps  by 
signifying  a  willingness  to  abstain  from  labor — the 
work  of  their  hands — on  that  day,  though  not  indors 
ing  its  religious  character. 

The  number,  over  which  the  saints  are  also  to  get 
the  victory,  is  the  number  of  the  papal  beast,  called 
also  the  number  of  his  name,  and  the  number  of  a 
man,  and  said  to  be  six  hundred  threescore  and  six. 
Rev.  13  : 18.  Where  is  that  number  to  be  found  ?  The 
pope  wears  upon  his  pontifical  crown  in  jeweled 
letters,  this  title  :  "  Vicarius  Filii  Dei"  "  Vicegerent 
of  the  Son  of  God,"  the  numerical  value  of  which 
title  is  just  six  hundred  and  sixty-six.  Thus  V  stands 
for  5  ;  I,  1  ;  C,  100  ;  a  and  r,  not  used  as  numerals  ;  I, 
1  ;  U,  anciently  written  as  V  and  standing  for  5  ;  s 
and  f,  not  used  as  numerals  ;  I,  1 ;  L,  50  ;  I,  1  ;  I,  1 ; 
D,  500  ;  e,  not  used  as  a  numeral ;  I,  1.  Tabulating 
this,  we  have  the  following :— 


INDICATIONS   OF  COMING   CHANGES.          267 


V 

=      5 

I 

-j 

c 

=  100 

I 

=      1 

U(V) 

I 

=      5 
=      1 

L 

=    50 

I 

=      1 

I 

-i 

D 

=  500 

I 

i 

666 

The  most  plausible  supposition  we  have  seen  on 
this  question  is  that  in  this  name  we  find  the  number 
sought  for.  It  is  the  number  of  the  beast,  the  papacy  ; 
it  is  the  number  of  his  name,  for  he  adopts  it  as  his 
distinctive  title  ;  it  is  the  number  of  a  man,  for  he 
who  bears  it  is  the  "man  of  sin."  We  get  the  victory 
over  it  by  refusing  those  institutions  and  practices 
which  he  sets  forth  as  evidence  of  his  power  to  sit 
supreme  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  by  adopting  which 
we  should  acknowledge  the  validity  of  his  title,  by 
conceding  his  right  to  act  for  the  Church  in  behalf  of 
the  Son  of  God. 

And  now,  reader,  we  leave  this  subject  with  you. 
We  confidently  submit  the  argument  as  one  which  is 
invulnerable  in  all  its  points.  We  ask  you  to  review 
it  carefully.  Take  in,  if  thought  can  comprehend  it, 
the  wonderful  phenomenon  of  our  own  nation.  Con 
sider  its  location,  the  time  of  its  rise,  the  manner  of 
its  rise,  its  character,  Satan's  masterpiece  of  lying 
wonders  which  he  has  here  sprung  upon  the  world, 
and  the  elements  which  are  everywhere  working  to 


268  THE   MARVEL    OF   NATIONS. 

fulfill  in  just  as  accurate  a  manner  all  the  remainder 
of  the  prophecy  in  regard  to  the  dragon  voice,  the 
erection  of  the  image,  and  the  enforcing  of  the  mark. 
Can  you  doubt  the  application  ?  We  know  not  how. 
Then  the  last  agents  to  appear  in  this  world's  history 
are  on  the  stage  of  action,  the  close  of  this  dispensa 
tion  is  at  hand,  and  the  Lord  cometh  speedily  to  judge 
the  world.  But  between  us  and  that  day  stands  an 
issue  of  appalling  magnitude.  It  is  no  less  than  this  : 
To  yield,  on  the  one  hand,  to  unrighteous  human  en 
actments,  soon  to  be  made,  and  thus  expose  ourselves 
to  the  unmingled  wrath  of  an  insulted  Creator  ;  or,  on 
the  other,  to  remain  loyal  to  God,  and  brave  the 
utmost  wrath  of  the  dragon  and  his  infuriated  hosts. 
In  reference  to  this  issue,  the  third  message  of  Rev. 
14  :  9-12  is  now  going  forth  as  a  solemn  and  vehement 
warning.  If  you  have  read  the  foregoing  pages,  this 
warning  has  come  to  you.  In  tender  solicitude  we 
ask  you  what  you  intend  to  do  with  it.  To  aid  in 
sounding  over  the  land  this  timely -note  of  alarm,  to 
impress  upon  hearts  the  importance  of  a  right  position 
in. the  coming  issue,  and  the  necessity  of  pursuing 
such  a  course  as  will  secure  the  favor  of  God  in  the 
season  of  earth's  direst  extremity,  and  a  share  at  last 
in  his  glorious  salvation,  is  the  object  of  this  effort. 
And  if  with  any  it  shall  have  this  effect,  the  prayer  of 
the  writer  will  not  be  utterly  unanswered,  nor  his 
labor  be  wholly  lost. 


The  portraits  of  fifty  of  the  fifty-six  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  (a  document  so  often  referred  to  in  this  work)  have  been  pre 
served.  Presuming  that  the  reader  would  be  interested  to  see  them,  we 
herewith  present  them  in  the  order  in  which  their  names  were  attached  to 
that  venerable  instrument. 


EDWARD    EUTLEDGE.  THOS.    HEYVARD,    JUNR. 


TIIOS.    LYNCH,    JUXR, 


ARTHUR    MIDDLETON.  269 


THOS.    STONE.  CHARLES   CARROLL    OF    CARROLLTON.  GEORGE    AVYTIIE. 


RICHARD    HENRY    LEE. 


THQS.    JEFFERSON.  BENJ.    HARRISON. 


270  TIIOS.    NELSOX,   JR. 


FRANCIS    LIGnTFOOT  LEE. 


GEO.  BEAD. 


THOS.  M.  KEAP.      271 


JNO.    WITHERSPOON.  FRANS.    HOPKINSON. 


JOblAH  BARTLETT. 


>VM.    WHIFFLE, 


2T3 


ROBT.    TREAT    PAINE.  ELIiKIDGE    GEKRY. 


WM.    WILLIAMS. 


OLIVER  WOLCOTT. 


w 

Jf*&- 


srei 


WHEN.  I 
the  course  of  h 
t  becomes  nece 


dece 


ture'  9 


, 

th.  opinions  of  mankind 
they  should  declare  the  causes  which  imp, 
hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident.  that  all  me 

THEWp{jKyst;iTr  0™H0IPP1NES^?-THATDTO"  SECURE  THESE 
are  instituted  umonir  men.  deriving    their  just 

NEVER     ANY     r'U 


mongth 
arth  the 
a!  station 
ofnalur 
Godenti 
espect  to 
equires  that 
them  to  the  aep.ralion.-W. 

eated  equal;  that  they  are  en 

VERNMENTS 
powers  from  the  consent 

RM    OF    GOVERNMENT    BECOM 


OF  THE    OOVEttNED.-THAT    WHENEVEB      Ull    FORM    OF    GOVERNMENT    BECOMES 

PROCLAIM   LIBERTY  THROUGHOUT  ALL  THE  LAND  TO  ALL 

DESTRUCTIVE  OF  THESE   ENDS,  IT  IS    THE   RIGHT  OF  THE  PEOPLE   TO   ALTER  OR 

to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  ft  new  Government,  laying  Its  foundation  on 

Such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  us  t»  th.^m  shall  sr,.m  most  likely  to  efTcct  their 
SAFETY    AND    HAPPINESS  -PRUDENCE,     INDEED.    WILL     DICTATE     THAT    GOVERN 

ments  Ions  established,   should   not    be   changed  for  light  and  transient 

ONUSES;  AND.  ACCORDINGLY,  ALL  EXPERIENCE    HATH  M.'oWN.  THAT  HANKIND  ARE 

BY  ORDER  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  PROVINCE  OF  PENNS 

MORE  DISPOSED  TO  SUFFER.  WHILE  EVILS  ARE  SUFI'ERABLE,  THAN  TO  RIGHT  THEM 
selves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.     Hut,  whe 

lo  .g  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object,  evmces  a  deiign  to  re 

3 


n  a 


, 
colonies 


them  under  absolute  despotis 

new  guards  for  their  future  security.     Buoh  has  been  the  patient  suffera 

Of  Government!1  The  "history    of   the   pro  °  •»  '  LA  DA  Mnt  kJHg  of  Great  Britain  is  a^hL'torTo'f 

repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  hav  nmr\r\r\i   fis  ing.in  direct  object, the  establishment  ofan 

absolute  tyranny  over  these  States.      To  pro  iM  UOC  LI  !  I  Ve  this,  let  facts   be  submitted  to  a  candid 

world.— H'e  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  public  good.  — He  has 

forbidden  his  Governors  to  pass  laws  of    immediate   .nd   pressing    importance,  unless  eu'penled  in  their 

operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;    and,  when    so   suspended,  he   has    utterly  neglected  to  attend 

to  them.— He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  Tor    the  accommodation  of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those 

people  would  relinquish  the  rib'ht  of  Representation    in  tho  Legislature;  a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  for 

mi  lable  to  tyrants  only.  -He  lias  cal     led  tojether     legislative  bodies  nt  places  unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  dis 

taut  from  the  depository  of  their  publio     records,  for  tho    solo  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance  wit:,  his 

measures.— He  has  dissolved  Represon    t.itivj  Hous.s  repeatedly,  f'-i  opposing,  with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions 

on  the  rights  of  thepeople.—  Hehasrefu    sed  lor  a  lone  time  after  such  dissolution*,  to  cause  others  to  be  elected 

tion.    have  returned  to   tho  people   at   large  for  their  ex 

o  all   tho  danger  of  invasion  from  without,  and  convulsions 

prevent  the  population  of  these  States;  for  that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  for 
naturalisation  of  foreigners;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions 
of  new  appropriates  of  lands.  —  II.  has  o  bstrncted  the  administration  of  iust;re.b  r. -t'u^n  '  his  assent  to  laws  for  estl 
Wishing  judiciary  powers.  — Ho  ha*  made  judges  depen  lent  on  bis  will  alone,  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  th 
amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries.— He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  office: 

to  harass  our  people,  and  eat  out  their  sub    stance He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  ofpeace.standmg 

'         '  '       ry  independent  of,  and  sup. 


ing  hi 


, 

of  our  Legislat 
bined, 


.  -He  has  affe    cte.d  to  render  tho 


d  unacknowledged  by 
dtroops  among  us.-F 


f  these  States 


-JL. 


th  others,  to  subject  us  to   a  jurisdiction  fo 

0  their  Acts  of  pretended  Lag     islntion.-  r'orq.iartcring  largo  bodies  of  armedtroops 

ing  mem,  ny  a  mo.-k  trial,  from  punishment  for    aov  mur  i.  rs  wt;i.-':,  th.  v  s:  uv.:  1  i unit  on  the  inh 

Forouttingoffonrtrad.withallparUofth.world.    For  imposing  tnies  on  ui  without  our  consent.— Ft .    ._._.      „  _. 

casm.of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury For  transport  ing  us  beyond  seas  to  bo  tried  for  pretended  offenc.S.  •    I  01  abolishing  the  free 

system  of   English  Law«  in  a  neighboring  Prov  nee  establishing  therem  »n  arbitrary  C.ovrrnment.  ana  enlarging  its  boundaries. so 

as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  Colonies.-  For  taking  away 

our   charters,   abolishing   our   most  valuable  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  powers  of  our  Governments.  — For  suspending  our  . 

own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  them«.dv,s  ,nv,-tcd  with     power  to  legislate  for  us    in  i.ll    eases  whatsoever. -He  has  abdicated  Govern  *? 

ment  here,  by  declaring  us  .  i;t  ol'  !,is  j.'ote.  t:..n,  and  wag      ing  war  against  us.— lie  has  plundered  our  teas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people.-He.  i,  at  this      time,  transport',,,,;  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of 
death,  desolation    and   tyranny,  already    beeun  with  circums      lances  of  crn.ltv  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and 
otally  unworthy  the  head  of  a'civilized  nation.— lie  has  cons      trained  our  fellow-citiien*  taken  captive  on  the  high  «eM,  to  bear  arms  against  their 
antrv.  to  b.cnm.   tl,.  „,„,.„•;„.„„..,  np  t(,eir   friends    and  bret      hren.  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their   hands.— He  has   excited   domestic    insurrection. 
on  the  inhabitants  of       our  frontiers  th.,  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known    rule  of  warfare  is  an  undu 

-   —  _.  _.. , ,  „...!  conditions.  — In  every       stage  of  these  oppressions  we  i^iv.>  petitioned  f,  r  redress  in  tho  most  humble  terms;  our 

repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  reneated  m,nrv.-A        prince  whose  character  ,s  thus  marked  bv  everv  act  which  may  define  a  tyrant,  ib  unflt 
?°the'rVU'  ir°fa  f"0P'10!''"-~N"or  '""•  »•  be-"' "anting  in  ntten        tion  to  our  British  bret!,ren.-Wo  have  warned  them. from  time  to  time,  of  BUcm^mad^ 

Vfe  have  appealed  to  I  heir  native  in'stice  and  mairnn      nlmlty*  and  we  have  conjured  them,  l>v  the  ties  of  our  common  kin 

drod,  to  disavow  these  iisurpatMini.  whii-h  would  inerital  ly  inteirupt  our         ronnections  and  corresixjndence.— They,  too.  have  been  deaf  to  tho  Toice  of  justice  and  con 
sanguinity.— We  must,  therefore.  ,c,,niesce  in  tho  necessity  which  denoun         ces  our  seiu.  ation,  and  holl  them,  as  we  hold  tho  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war,  in  peace 

^;i^V^THE-^^S^EUoV^E§EPC^^ 

ought  to  be.  Free  and  Independent  States:  thatthey  are  absolved  from 

em  and  tho  State  of  dreat  Britain,  is.  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved;  «nd  that,  as  Free  and 
alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  Act.  »ud  things  which  Independent  Statos 
may  of  rig 
htdo.    And 
for  the  sup 
port  of  this  De 
claration,  with 

ofDivine'proTidene 

o.  wo  mutually  pla 
dgotoench  other 


.  ,  , 

Tt"^  '  th"1>f'"'<'.  'he  Il.nre«entat,ves  of  the  I'mted  States  .if  Am-r 

TUBE  OFOUa  INTENTIONS.  DO.  IS  THE  NAM  I'..  AND  I!Y  THE  A 
ana  deelnre,  thnt  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 

111  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  that  all  political  conne,  ,,„„  l,etw,.,.n  th 
lodenendout  States,  they  bare  full  power  to  l«v,  wur.conclude  peac,,  cootract 


APPENDIX. 


INCE  the  foregoing  pages  went  to  press,  events  have 
transpired  in  Arkansas  and  Tennessee,  going  to  show 
very  clearly  what  the  practical  workings  of  the  Sunday 
law  will  be  whenever  and  wherever  it  may  be  secured. 

It  is  but  a  short  time  since  the  attention  of  the  people  in 
some  places  in  Arkansas,  began  to  be  called  to  the  importance 
of  observing  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath 
according  to  the  fourth  commandment  of  the  decalogue,  by 
the  advocates  of  that  faith.  As  converts  to  that  view  and 
practice  began  to  appear,  it  excited  strong  opposition  on  the 
part  of  some,  as  it  has  in  other  places,  and  as  truth  has  always 
done  ever  since  error  has  endeavored  to  usurp  control  over 
the  minds  of  men.  How  far  the  action  which  has  since  fol 
lowed  has  been  owing  to  this  opposition,  we  do  not  say.  We 
only  state  the  facts,  and  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own 
conclusions. 

In  the  winter  of  1884-5,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the 
Legislature  of  that  State  to  abolish  the  clause  in  the  existing 
Sunday  law  which  exempted  from  its  operation  those  who 
conscientiously  observed  the  seventh  day.  Up  to  this  time 
the  laws  of  that  State  had  been  very  just  and  liberal  in  this 
respect.  But  now  a  petition  was  presented  that  the  exemption 
clause  be  stricken  out,  bringing  all  alike,  without  regard  to 
their  religious  faith  or  practice,  under  subjection  to  the 
enactment  to  keep  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath. 
The  petition  claimed  to  have  been  called  out  by  the  fact  that 
certain  Jews  in  Little  Rock,  regarding  the  seventh  day  as  the 
Sabbath,  kept  open  stores  and  transacted  their  usual  business 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Considering  the  fact  that  their 

[275] 


276  APPENDIX. 

places  of  business  were  open  also  on  the  seventh  day,  this 
brought  them  into  unfair  competition  with  the  other  merchants 
of  the  place.  There  was  certainly  no  necessity  for  a  change 
of  the  law  to  meet  this  difficulty ;  for  the  law  exempted  those 
only  who  conscientiously  observed  the  seventh  day;  and 
these  Jews,  by  keeping  open  places  of  business  on  the  seventh 
day,  showed  that  there  was  no  such  conscientious  observance 
on  their  part,  and  consequently  that  they  could  not  justly 
claim  the  exemption  of  the  law.  But  ostensibly  on  this 
ground  the  petition  was  urged,  and  the  repeal  of  the  exempt 
ing  clause  secured. 

What  has  been  the  result  ?  We  have  not  learned  that-  the 
aforesaid  Jews  in  Little  Rock,  or  any  other  part  of  the  State, 
have  been  molested ;  that  railroads,  hotel-keepers,  livery 
men,  or  those  engaged  in  any  like  vocations,  have  been  in 
anywise  restrained.  But  those  persons  above  referred  to, 
who,  from  a  Christian  point  of  view,  had  commenced  to  ob 
serve  the  seventh  day  in  preference  to  the  first;  who  were  not 
engaged  in  such  business  as  brought  them  into  competition 
with  others;  who,  having  conscientiously  observed  the  seventh 
day,  proposed  to  go  quietly  and  industriously  about  their 
lawful  business  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, — these  soon 
found  that  they  were  not  overlooked.  Warrants  were  promptly 
issued  for  the  arrest  of  some  five  or  six  of  these,  one  of  them 
a  minister  whose  offense  was  that  he  was  engaged  one  Sunday 
in  painting  a  meeting-house  erected  by  his  people. 

The  trial  of  these  persons  came  off  at  Fayetteville,  Ark., 
the  first  week  in  November,  1885.  *n  making  up  the  indict 
ment,  an  observer  of  the  seventh  day  was  called  in  to  testify 
against  his  brethren.  The  following  examination  substantially 
took  place : — 

"Do  you  know  any  one  about  here  who  is  violating  the 
Sunday  law? — Yes.  Who? — The  Frisco  railroad  is  running 
several  trains  each  way  on  that  day.  Do  you  know  of  any 
others? — Yes.  Who? — The  hotels  of  this  place  are  open  and 
doing  a  full  run  of  business  on  Sunday  as  on  other  days.  Any 
others? — Yes;  the  drug  stores  and  barbers.  Any  others? — 


APPENDIX.  277 

Yes ;  the  livery-stable  men  do  more  business  on  that  day  than 
on  any  other." 

As  these  were  not  the  parties  the  court  was  after,  the  ques 
tion  was  finally  asked  directly,  "Do. you  know  of  any 
Seventh-day  Adventists  who  have  worked  on  Sunday?" 
Ascertaining  that  some  of  this  class  had  been  guilty  of  labor 
on  that  day,  indictments  were  issued  for  five  persons  accord 
ingly. 

At  the  trial,  the  defendants  employed  the  best  counsel  ob 
tainable — Judge  Walker,  ex-member  of  the  United  States 
Senate.  The  points  he  made  before  the  court  were  that  the 
law  was  unconstitutional, — 

First,  because  it  was  an  infringement  of  religious  freedom, 
or  the  right  of  conscience,  inasmuch  as  it  compelled  men  to 
keep  as  the  Sabbath  a  day  which  their  conscience  and  the 
Bible  taught  them  was  not  the  Sabbath; 

Secondly,  because  it  was  an  infringement  of  the  right  of 
property,  taking  from  seventh-day  keepers  one-sixth  part  of 
their  time ;  and  the  time  of  a  laboring  man  being  his  property, 
the  law  was  in  its  nature  a  robber ;  and — 

Thirdly,  because  it  took  away  a  right  that  God  had  given 
— the  right  to  labor  six  days  and  to  rest  one. 

All  this  was  overruled  by  the  judge,  who  charged  that  the 
law  rested  equally  upon  all,  requiring  that  all  men  should 
rest  one  day,  and  that  the  first  day  of  the  week ;  which  re 
quirement  rested  alike  on  the  Methodists,  the  Baptists,  the 
Congregationalists,  the  Sabbatarians,  the  Jews,  worldlings 
and  infidels ;  and  if  our  religion  required  us  to  keep  another 
day,  that  was  a  price  we  paid  to  our  religion,  and  with  that 
the  State  had  nothing  to  do.  He  ruled,  moreover,  that  no  one 
had  a  right  to  set  up  his  conscience  against  the  law  of  the 
land 

From  these  denials  of  the  rights  which  the  Author  of  their 
existence  has  given  to  all  men — namely,  their  right  to  labor 
six  days,  and  to  rest  on  the  seventh,  and  the  right  to  obey 
God  rather  than  man,  when  man's  requirements  conflict 


278  APPENDIX. 

with  his,  the  counsel  for  the  defendants  of  course  took  appeal ; 
and  the  case  went  up  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  State,  to  be 
tried  in  May,  1886. 

After  the  argument  of  the  counsel  had  been  presented,  the 
defendants  were  given  opportunity  to  speak  for  themselves, 
whereupon  the  minister  before  referred  to  occupied  about 
forty  minutes  in  presenting  to  the  court  a  clear  and  concise 
argument  from  the  Scriptures,  showing  the  duty  of  all  men  to 
keep  the  seventh  day  and  that  alone.  By-standers  remarked 
that  the  spectacle  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  pleading  in  court 
from  an  open  Bible  for  God-given  rights  which  the  laws  of 
men  denied  him,  was  one  not  often  witnessed  since  long  by 
gone  days  of  religious  intolerance  and  persecution. 

One  other  case  besides  those  of  the  observers  of  the  seventh 
day — that  of  a  hotel  runner,  came  up  for  trial ;  but  he  was 
cleared  in  about  five  minutes,  while  the  seventh-day  keepers 
were  convicted.  Many  think  this  case  was  thrown  in  merely 
as  an  attempted  cover  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  prosecutions, 
which  came  from  professors  of  religion. 

During  the  same  time  a  similar  work  has  been  going  on  in 
Tennessee,  where  seventh-day  views  have  of  late  been  more 
extensively  agitated.  Eld.  S.  Fulton,  of  Springville,  Henry 
Co.,  Term.,  writes  that  eight  in  that  State  have  been  prosecuted 
for. Sunday  labor.  Three  of  the  number  have  been  convicted 
on  a  charge  of  "  flagrant  violation  of  the  Christian  Sabbath." 
The  charge  was  preferred  by  a  professor  of  religion  ;  but  two 
of  the  men  were  quietly  plowing  in  their  fields  a  full  half  mile 
from  the  house  of  the  one  who  lodged  complaint  against 
them.  In  these  cases  a  fine  of  $20  and  costs  was  imposed  on 
each.  Appeal  has  been  taken  to  the  supreme  court  of  the 
State,  which  convenes  in  Jackson  in  May  next  (1886),  the 
parties  having  meanwhile  to  give  bail  of  $250  each  for  their 
appearance  in  court  at  that  time. 

In  regard  to  the  state  of  public  sentiment  in  Tennessee  on 
this  question,  Eld.  F.  writes: — 

"  Public  sentiment  is  fast  changing  here  in  favor  of  Sunday 
legislation.  Some  seven  years  ago,  a  Mr.  Thomason,  a  lawyer 


APPENDIX  £79 

of  Paris,  Tennessee,  in  consulting  with  our  brethren  on  the 
question  of  Sunday  labor,  advised  them  to  pursue  their  work 
on  Sunday,  claiming  that  they  could  not  be  harmed  for  it,  as 
the  constitution  granted  them  that  right.  Since  then,  he  has 
professed  religion  and  joined  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
now  says  that  we  must  quit  work  on  the  Christian  Sabbath  or 
suffer  punishment  by  law;  and  there  is  no  avoiding  it." 

Speaking  of  the  trial,  he  says:  "In  the  court  room,  the 
attorney  for  the  defendant  asked  the  question  if  Sunday  was 
the'Sabbath;  and  the  judge  ruled  it  out  as  not  a  proper 
question ;  neither  would  he  permit  a  statement  to  be  made 
why  our  brethren  worked  on  Sunday.  In  his  charge  to  the 
jury,  it  was  easily  seen  that  he  was  determined  to  have  them 
punished.  The  jury  had  hardly  left  the  room  when  they  re 
turned  a  verdict  of  '  Guilty,'  and  a  fine  of  $20  and  costs  was 
imposed  on  each.  Our  brethren  then  appealed  to  the  su 
preme  court,  in  the  hope  that  some  justice  may  be  shown 
them  there. ' ' 

It  is  the  opinion  of  some  that  the  decision  will  be  reversed 
in  the  higher  court.  A  prominent  lawyer  whom  Eld.  F.  has 
consulted  gives  his  views  of  the  case  in  the  following  letter, 
which  we  are  permitted  to  lay  before  the  reader  : — ' 


"HUNTINGDON,  TENNESSEE,  Jan.  6,    1 886. 

"ELD.  SAMUEL  FULTON, 

"  Springville,  Tennessee. 

"  Dear  Sir, — 

"  Your  letter  of  yesterday  received 

and  duly  considered.  In  reply  I  have  to  inform  you  that  I 
cannot  furnish  you  with  the  opinion  of  the  judges  in  Tennessee 
in  relation  to  the  statute  under  which  members  of  your  church 
are  being  prosecuted  for  working  on  Sunday,  except  in  so  far 
as  the  question  has  been  before  our  supreme  court.  The 
constitutionality  of  our  act  of  Assembly,  making  it  an  offense, 
punishable  by  a  fine  of  $3,  to  work  on  Sunday,  has 


280  APPENDIX. 

been  passed  upon  by  our  supreme  court.  It  has,  however, 
been  decided  by  our  supreme  court  that  it  is  not  nuisance  for 
a  man  to  work  on  Sunday,  and  therefore  not  indictable.  See 
7th  Baxter  95.  In  a  later  case  the  same  court  decided  that 
1  hunting  or  fishing  on  Sunday  may  be  done  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  subject  the  party  guilty  to  indictment  for  a  nuisance.' 
See  i  B.  I.  Law  Reports,  page  129. 

"  From  what  I  have  learned  in  relation  to  the  prosecutions 
in  Henry  county,  I  would  say  that  if  our  supreme  court  does 
not  go  back  on  the  question  decided  in  the  case  of  the  State 
vs.  Lossy  7  Baxter  page  95,  before  referred  to,  the  case  now 
pending  on  writ  of  error  in  said  court  will  be  reversed, 
remanded  to  the  circuit  court,  and  dismissed  on  the  ground 
that  to  work  on  Sunday  is  not  an  indictable  offense.  But 
should  the  court  overrule  the  case  last  mentioned,  we  may  be 
able  in  that  case  to  make  the  constitutional  question;  but  in 
asmuch  as  I  have  not  seen  the  record  as  made  up,  I  cannot 
say  positively.  In  the  7  Baxter  case,  the  judge,  delivering  the 
opinion  of  the  court,  incidentally  remarked  that  the  defendant 
was  guilty  of  violating  the  statute  prohibiting  work  on  Sunday, 
but  that  the  offense  was  not  indictable.  The  question  of  the 
constituti6nality  of  the  Sunday  statute  was  not  before  the 
court  in  that  case.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  our  Sunday  laws, 
as  against  members  of  your  church,  can  be  sustained  at  all  by 
the  courts,  it  must  be  on  the  ground  that  the  legislature  pos 
sesses  the  power  to  require  the  citizen  to  rest  on  any  one  day 
in  the  week,  Sunday,  Monday,  or  any  other  one  of  the  seven. 
I  know  our  courts,  both  State  and  Federal,  have  gone  a  great 
way  in  upholding  certain  legislation  on  the  ground  of  the 
police  power  of  the  States.  However,  I  don't  want  to  be 
understood  as  saying  that  the  legislature  possesses  the  power 
to  pass  the  statute  under  consideration,  as  I  have  not  had  the 
time  necessary  to  a  proper  investigation  of  the  question.  But 
I  feel  confident  that  if  the  question  can  have  the  consideration 
at  the  hands  of  courts  that  its  importance  demands,  your 
people  would  be  allowed  to  observe  their  Sabbath  and  to 


APPENDIX.  281 

work  the  remaining  six  days  of  the  week.     I  am,  however, 
fearful  that  much  prejudice,  bigotry,  and  intolerance  must  be 
overcome  before  success  can  be  predicted  with  confidence. 
"Very  lespectfully,  *  *  *  *» 

Still  later  reports  from  Eld.  F.  represent  that  the  opposi 
tion  there  is  growing  still  more  active,  and  is  becoming  so 
persistent  and  bitter  as  to  threaten  serious  injury  to  their 
work.  Too  many,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
will  quail  before  the  opposition  sure  to  be  visited  upon  un 
popular  truth,  in  only  a  social  point  of  view,  from  their 
friends  and  neighbors.  But  when,  in  addition  to  this,  they 
are  threatened  with  almost  certain  prosecution,  fewer  still  will 
be  found  to  yield  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  though  they 
may  be  quite  well  convinced  that  the  observance  of  the  sev 
enth  day  is  in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures. 

We  do  not  apprehend  that  human  nature  in  Arkansas,  Ten 
nessee,  and  Pennsylvania  differs  materially  from  human  nature 
in  any  and  all  of  the  other  States  ;  and  in  every  community 
there  will  be  found  plenty  to  oppress  their  neighbors  in  the 
matter  of  Sabbath-keeping,  if  once  the  law  can  be  secured  to 
give  them  that  privilege. 

The  issue  of  these  cases  will  be  watched  by  many  with  great 
interest. 


II. 


'HIS  book  having  come  to  another  edition  at  the  date 
of  this  writing,  December,   1886,  we  are  now  able  to 
state  the  issue  in  the  cases  referred  to  in  the  preceding 
Appendix. 

The  first  reported  to  us  was  the  trial  in  Tennessee.  We  lay 
it  before  the  reader  in  the  language  of  an  eye-witness — Eld. 
G.  G.  Rupert — who  says  :  — 

"Owing  to  the  ill  health  of  Eld.  Fulton,  I  was  requested 
by  him  to  attend  the  trial  of  our  brethren,  which  was  to  take 
place  at  Paris,  Tenn.,  Sept.  27.  The  charges  against  them, 
as  reported  to  the  court  by  the  Attorney-general,  read  as 
follows  :— 

'"The  Grand  Jurors  for  the  State  upon  their  oaths  present  that  — 

,  on  the  —  day  of  April,  1885,  in  said  county  and  State  and  at  divers 

other  times  before  and  up  to  the  time  of  taking  this  inquisition,  did  unlawfully 
and  unnecessarily  engage  in  his  secular  business,  and  did  perform  his  com 
mon  avocation  of  life,  on  Sunday,  by  working  on  the  farm,  plowing,  hoe 
ing,  grubbing,  chopping  wood,  making  rails,  and  doing  various  other  kindB 
of  work  on  said  Sabbath  day,  said  work  not  being  necessary  or  a  matter  of 
charity;  and  it  was  and  is  to  the  great  disturbance  of  the  citizens,  and  a 
public  nuisance  in  that  community,  prejudicial  to  the  public  morals,  de 
cency,  etc.  So  the  Grand  Jurors  aforesaid  present  and  say  that  the  said 
— ,  at  the  date  aforesaid,  in  the  manner  and  for  aforesaid, 
was  guilty  of  a  public  nuisance  which  was  and  is  prejudicial  to  public 
morals,  contrary  to  the  statutes  in  such  cases  made  and  provided,  and 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  State. 

"  'JOSEPH  E.  JONES,  Attorney-general.'1 

"When  men  can  call  the  pursuit  of  our  lawful  labor  on 
the  first  day,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  *  prejudicial,'  'im 
moral,'  'nuisance,'  'indecent,'  etc.,  it  would  be  going  but  a 
step  farther  to  clothe  the  persons  so  charged  with  fantastic 
[282] 


APPENDIX.  283 

garments,  as  in  the  days  of  the  inquisition,  branded  with  the 
word  'heretic/  and  ornamented  with  pictures  of  devils. 

'•'THE    COURT    ROOM. 

"  The  building  is  of  brick,  situated  in  a  town  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  inhabitants.  It  makes  a  nice  appearance  from 
without ;  but  upon  entering,  we  are  reminded  of  what  Christ 
said  about  the  whited  sepulchers.  On  one  side  is  a  rostrum 
for  the  judge.  In  front  is  an  enclosure  for  the  attorneys,  in 
side  of  which  are  tables  for  their  convenience.  The  floor  is 
well  saturated  with  tobacco.  The  tables  reminded  us  of 
boxes  in  front  of  country  stores,  which  loafers  while  away 
their  time  in  whittling.  The  fume  of  strong  drink  mingled 
sensibly  with  that  of  the  tobacco. 

"  THE    TRIAL. 

"In  this  place  three  men,  one  thirty-five,  the  others  be 
tween  sixty  and  sixty-five,  years  of  age,  were  brought  to  trial 
on  the  religious  question  of  first-day  observance,  for  which 
there  is  no  law  nor  instruction  in  all  the  Scriptures.  On  ex 
amination,  the  question  was  asked  if  the  defendant  had 
worked  on  Sunday.  He  said  he  had.  The  reply  from  the 
judge,  without  another  question  or  privilege  to  speak,  was, — 

"  '  We  fine  you  ten  dollars  and  costs  [amounting  to  nearly 
forty  dollars].  Sheriff,  take  this  man  in  charge  until  this 
amount  is  secured.' 

"  This  case  is  a  sample  of  all  the  rest. 

"THEIR    LAWYER. 

"Having  employed  a  lawyer  to  defend  them,  and  con 
tracted  with  him  for  forty-five  dollars,  they  supposed  that  he 
at  least  would  be  a  friend,  and  try  to  do  something  in  their 
behalf;  but  not  so.  After  the  trial  was  over,  he  having 
made  no  plea  in  the  matter  whatever,  gave  his  clients  this 
advice :  — 

"  'Pay  your  fine  and  costs,  and  be  more  careful  hereafter; 
and  if  you  can't  keep  from  working  on  Sunday,  I  should  go 
to  another  land.' 


284:  APPENDIX. 

"THE    JAIL. 

"The  brethren  knowing  that  they  had  done  no  evil,  and 
feeling  that  to  pay  their  hard-earned  money  on  such  a  charge 
would  be  to  put  a  premium  on  injustice,  decided  to  go  to 
jail,  and  suffer  for  the  truth's  sake.  The  jailer  manifested  a 
spirit  of  kindness,  taking  them  home  to  supper  with  his  own 
family,  and  otherwise  doing  all  the  law  allowed  him  to  do 
for  their  comfort.  Being  desirous  of  seeing  the  jail,  I  was 
permitted  to  enter.  From  the  hall  we  entered  the  rooms  oc 
cupied  by  the  prisoners.  The  one  our  brethren  occupy  is 
about  8xio  ft.  Upon  the  floor  were  mattresses  made  of  sea- 
grass,  with  blankets  for  covering  ;  but  no  pillows  nor  bed 
linen,  nor  apiece  of  furniture  of  any  kind.  In  this  apart 
ment  our  brethren  are  placed,  to  remain  nearly  six  months, 
for  serving  God  according  to  their  own  consciences  and  in 
obedience  to  the  Scriptures.  Is  it  any  wonder  the  prophet, 
as  he  was  shown  the  acts  of  this  Government,  said  tjiat  it 
spake  like  a  dragon  ?  Can  our  opponents  say  longer  that 
observers  of  the  seventh  day  will  never  be  persecuted  ?  To 
deny  it  to  be  religious  persecution  would  be  to  deny  the 
plainest  facts  in  the  case.  If  it  is  not,  why  do  business  men, 
hack  drivers,  livery-stable  keepers,  saloon  keepers,  hunters, 
fishers,  etc.,  do  whatever  they  please  on  Sunday,  and  yet  go 
free,  while  these  men  who  conscientiously  keep  the  seventh 
day  and  then  go  quietly  about  their  work  on  Sunday,  are 
torn  from  their  homes,  deprived  of  their  freedom,  and  im 
prisoned  ?  As  I  bade  our  brethren  farewell,  I  realized  as 
never  before  the  truthfulness  of  our  position.  Never  had  I 
so  felt  the  importance  of  doing  what  lies  in  our  power  to  ad 
vance  the  cause  while  it  is  our  privilege  to  do  so. 

"THE  EFFECT  UPON  THE  CAUSE. 

"  Eld.  Fulton  informs  me  that  this  treatment  of  our  breth 
ren  has  tended  strongly  to  the  advancement  of  the  work. 
Before  this,  canvassers  were  hard  to  obtain.  Since  the  pros 
ecution  commenced,  men  have  given  their  time  to  the  work, 


APPENDIX.  285 

and  hundreds  of  dollars'  worth  of  publications  have  been 
sold.  I  am  sure  nothing  will  advance  the  cause  so  fast,  and 
nothing  will  drive  us  so  near  to  God. 

"May  God  grant  grace  to  these  brethren  to  be  faithful. 
Especially  do  the  cases  of  the  two  aged  brethren  call  for  our 
sympathy.  They  have  served  the  Lord  for  years  in  the  past, 
and  should  be  granted  peace  in  their  declining  days.  Now 
that  they  are  thus  taken  from  their  homes,  deprived  of  their 
maens  and  their  freedom,  the  sympathy  of  every  heart  should 
be  aroused.  Let  us  '  remember  them  that  are  in  bonds  as 
bound  with  them.'  ' 

In  Arkansas  the  case  which  was  made  a  test  and  appealed 
to  the  Supreme  Court,  was  that  of  Eld.  J.  W.  Scoles,  the 
minister  referred  to  on  p.  276,  whose  noisy  occupation  of 
painting  a  meeting-house  so  disturbed  the  people  of  that 
vicinity.  In  this  case  also  the  decision  of  the  lower  court 
was  confirmed ;  and  as  the  reader  will  be  interested  in  the 
findings  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  reference  thereto,  we  give 
them  according  to  the  copy  which  has  been  furnished  us  by 
Eld1.  Scoles:- 

"Decision  of  the  [Arkansas]  Supreme  Court,,  J.  W.  Scoles 
vs.  State — appealed  from  Washington  county. 

"The  indictment  charges  that  the  defendant  'on  the  3rd 
day  of  May,  1885,  tne  sa^  day  being  Sunday,  unlawfully  was 
found  laboring  and  performing  other  services,  the  same  not 
then  and  there  being  customary  household  duty  of  daily  ne 
cessity,  comfort,  or  charity.' 

"The  particular  act  that  constitutes  the  alleged  offense  is 
not  set  out,  and  appellant  urges  that  the  indictment  is  not 
sufficient. 

"  Held  :  The  language  of  the  statute  which  creates  the  of 
fense  is  employed  in  the  indictment,  and  nothing  more  is  re 
quired  in  a  statutory  misdemeanor,  where  the  general  lan 
guage  of  the  statute  is  sufficient  to  apprise  the  defendant  of  the 
nature  of  the  accusation  against  him.  We  cannot  say  that 
the  indictment  is  insufficient  under  this  rule,  but  think  that 


286  APPENDIX. 

the  defendant  would  be  enabled  to  prepare  his  defense  and 
plead  the  judgment  in  bar  of  a  second  prosecution  for  the 
same  offense. 

"The  proof  shows  that  defendant  was  found  painting  a 
church  on  a  Sunday.  He  offered  to  prove  that  he  was  a 
member  of  a  religious  society  known  as  the  Seventh-day  Ad- 
ventists,  one  of  the  tenets  of  which  is  the  observance  of  Sat 
urday  as  the  Sabbath  instead  of  Sunday,  and  that  he  had  reg 
ularly  refrained  from  all  secular  work  and  labor  on  Saturday, 
agreeably  to  his  religious  faith  and  that  of  his  church.  But 
the  court  rejected  this  testimony,  and  the  defendant  was  con 
victed  and  has  appealed. 

"The  offense  was  committed  after  the  repeal  of  section 
1886  of  Mansfield's  Digest  by  the  legislature  of  1885.  The 
appellant  contends,  however,  that  the  effort  to  repeal  section 
1886  was  ineffectual;  and  if  it  was  not,  the  law  without  the 
exception  made  by  that  section,  gives  a  preference  to  other 
religious  denominations  over  that  of  the  appellant,  thereby 
violating  section  24,  art.  2,  of  the  Constitution  ;  and  more 
over,  denies  to  him  the  equal  protection  of  the  law  within 
the  meaning  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

"  Held  :  The  argument  against  the  repeal  of  section  1886 
is  based  upon  the  idea  that  if  the  law  is  read  without  that 
provision,  the  penalty  of  the  statute  is  'extended'  to  the  ap 
pellant  without  a  re-enactment  of  the  law,  thereby  violating 
section  23,  art.  5,  Constitution.  But  it  will  be  observed  that 
that  provision  of  the  Constitution  does  not  in  terms  prohibit 
the  repeal  of  a  law  by  reference  to  its  titles,  and  the  prohibi 
tion  can  be  extended  by  implication  only.  The  power  of  the 
legislature  is  not  to  be  cut  off  by  inference,  save  where  the  in 
ference  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  We  look  to  the  Consti 
tution,  not  to  see  whether  power  is  granted,  but  to  ascertain 
if  it  is  withheld  ;  and  when  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  the  existence 
of  a  power,  it  must  be  resolved  in  favor  of  the  legislative  action. 

"It  is  well  settled  that  this  provision  does  not  make  it  nec 
essary,  when  a  new  statute  is  passed,  that  all  prior  laws  modi- 


APPENDIX.  287 

fiecl,  affected,  or  repealed  by  implication  by  it  should  be  re- 
enacted.  This  would  be  an  absurd  and  impracticable  con 
struction.  If  the  legislature  had  undertaken  to  amend  the 
section,  the  provision  under  consideration  would  have  re 
quired  the  section  as  amended  to  be  set  forth  in  extenso,  and 
the  old  section  upon  the  passage  of  the  new  one  would  have 
been  repealed,  if  not  expressly  jhen  by  implication.  In  that 
event  there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for  re-enacting  the 
other  parts  of  the  chapter,  in  which  the  section  is  found. 
When  there  is  an  express  repeal  of  a  section  without  a  substitute 
for  an  amendment  to  it,  what  greater  necessity  for  re-enact 
ing  the  other  sections  that  are  affected  only  incidentally  by 
the  repeal?  The  section  has  been  repealed,  and  the  chapter 
is  intact  without  it. 

"  The  constitutionality  of  our  Sunday  laws  is  not  affected 
by  the  repeal  of  section  1886.  (For  the  reason  commonly 
given  for  sustaining  these  acts,  see  Commonwealth  vs.  Has, 
122  Mass.  4.)  It  is  said  that  everyday  in  the  week  is  ob 
served  by  some  one  of  the  religious  sects  of  the  world  as  a 
day  of  rest ;  and  if  the  power  is  denied  to  fix  by  law  Sunday 
as  such  a  day,  the  same  reason  would  prevent  the  selection  of 
any  day;  but  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  select  a  day  as  a 
holiday  is  everywhere  conceded.  The  State  from  the  begin 
ning  has  appropriated  Sunday  as  such.  On  that  day  the  bus 
iness  of  our  courts  and  public  offices  has  always  been  sus 
pended  ;  the  issuance  and  service  of  legal  process  prohibited  ; 
presentment  and  notice  of  dishonor  of  commercial  paper  not 
allowed;  and  the  performance  of  an  act  in  execution  of  a 
contract  which  matures  on  Sunday  postponed  to  the  next  day. 
This  observance  of  Sunday  as  a  day  of  refrainment  from  sec 
ular  business  has  always  been  required  of  the  people  generally 
without  reference  to  creed,  and  they  continue  to  observe  it, 
without  complaint  that  as  a  municipal  institution  it  violates 
any  of  their  constitutional  or  religious  rights.  The  principle 
which  upholds  these  regulations  underlies  the  right  of  the 
State  to  prescribe  a  penalty  for  the  violation  of  the  Sunday 


288  APPENDIX 

law.  The  law  whicn  imposes  the  penalty  operates  upon  all 
alike,  and  interferes  with  no  man's  religious  belief;  for  in 
limiting  the  prohibition  to  secular  pursuits,  it  leaves  religious 
profession  and  worship  free. 

"The  appellant's  argument,  then,  is  reduced  to  this  :  that 
because  he  conscientiously  believes  that  he  is  permitted  by  the 
law  of  God  to  labor  on  Sunday,  he  may  violate  with  impu 
nity  a  statute  declaring  it  illegal  to  do  so.  But  a  man's  relig 
ion  cannot  be  accepted  as  a  justification  for  committing  an 
overt  act  made  criminal  by  the  law  of  the  land.  If -the  law 
operates  harshly,  as  laws  sometimes  do,  the  remedy  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  legislature.  It  is  not  in  the  province  of  the 
judiciary  to  pass  upon  the  wisdom  and  policy  of  legislation  ; 
that  is  for  the  members  of  the  legislative  department ;  and 
the  only  appeal  from  their  determination  is  to  the  constit 
uency." 

In  relation  to  the  foregoing,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the 
assertion  that  all  days  are  kept  by  different  classes,  and 
therefore  the  State  could  not  fix  upon  any  day  as  a  holiday 
without  taking  somebody's  Sabbath,  is  not  true.  Only  three 
days  are  regarded  as  sacred  days.  These  are  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  two  thieves  between  which  it  is  crucified — 
the  Friday  of  Mohammed,  and  the  Sunday  of  the  pope. 

The  plea  that  the  Sunday  law  interferes  with  no  man's  re 
ligion  is  a  specious  one,  but  one  which  is  shown  by  a  mo 
ment's  reflection  to  be  utterly  false.  A  man's  religion  is  in 
terfered  with,  when  discrimination  is  made  in  favor  of  an 
other  man's  religion  and  against  his  own,  and  when  he  can 
not  be  true  to  the  convictions  of  his  own  conscience  in  regard 
to  those  spiritual  duties  which  he  owes  alone  to  God,  without 
incurring  in  consequence  hardship  and  loss.  And  this  is 
precisely  what  the  Sunday  law  does  in  reference  to  observers 
of  the  seventh  day.  But  it  is  said  that  the  State  in  its  legis 
lation  has  no  reference  to  the  religious  character  of  Sunday. 
This  is  too  flimsy  a  pretext  behind  which  to  hide ;  for  it  is 
written  all  over  the  transaction  in  characters  which  cannot 


APPENDIX,  289 

be  hidden,  that  Sunday  is  elevated  to  the  position  of  the 
State  rest-day  simply  and  solely  because  so  many  church 
people  regard  it  as  a  religious  institution.  It  is  utterly  im 
possible  to  separate  it  from  this  idea,  or  to  attribute  it  to  any 
other  cause.  Any  defense  attempted  on  this  line  is  sheer 
sophistry.  And  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
document,  that  the  law  of  the  land  can  make  acts  criminal 
which  God  permits  in  our  worship  of  himself,  is  little  short 
of  monstrous. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  S.  D.  Adventists,  held  in 
Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  Nov.  18  to  Dec.  6,  1886,  it  was  decided 
to  appeal  the  case  of  Eld.  Scoles  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States. 


L9 


E)  E1X 


Above  God— how  ?     ITS 
A  Catholic  challenge  to  Protestants.     180 
A  conflict  inevitable.     198 
Adam  Smith's  prediction.     17 
Additions  by  immigration.     66 
A  fair  proposition.     184,  256 
A  false  charge.     184 
A  false  issue.     228 
A  glance  at  the  past.     187 
Agreement  between  Daniel  and  Paul.     174 
A  head  wounded  to  death.     115 
Aims  and  efforts  of  Romanism.     142 
Alarming  apathy  of  Christians.     261 
All  Christian.     244 

All  people  "consent"  to  their  government.     254 
A  logical  sequence.     187 
A  marvelous  continent.     80 

Amendment  to  Pennsylvania  law  defeated.     258 
America  invites  the  world.     14 
American  Bible  Society.     79 
American  literature  abroad.     78 
American  Traveler  on  immigration.     64 
America  signalized  by  God  above  all  nations.     80 
An  accomplice  of  the  papacy.     161 
An  act  of  faith.     187 

An  American  Catholic  Church  called  for.     167 
A  new  political  party  calls  for  Sunday  enforcement.     216 
An  Oakland  (Cal.)  D.  D.  on  enforcing  Sunday.     213 
"Another  beast."     106 
Another  "irrepressible  conflict."     198 
An  unavoidable  conclusion.     93 
Application  of  Rev.  12:12.     153 
A  proper  subject  of  prophecy.     89 
A  prophecy  remarkably  fulfilled.     118 
A  prophetic  mile-stone  not  a  hundred  years  old.     103 
A  question  of  prophecy.     145 

Area  of  the  United  States  and  Russia  compared  (note).     14 
A  religious  strike  for  Sunday.     221 
A  remarkable  scene  in  Westminster  Abbey.     242 
A  Spanish  view  (Count  d'Arandaj.     17 
Astounding  statements.     254 
[290] 


INDEX.  291 

A  taking  war-cry.     260 

A  thankless  task.     181 

A  victorious  company.     121 

A  warrant  offered  for  Sunday-keeping.     178 

Beginning  of  the  prophecy  of  Rev.  13.     94 

Berkeley's  poem  "  The  Course  of  Empire."     Ill 

Berthier  enters  Rome.     117 

Birth  of  New  England.     24 

Bishop  A.  Cleveland  Coxe  on  "National  Christianity,"  222 

Bishop  Foster  on  the  state  of  religion  in  Europe.     232 

Bishop  Newton  on  the  mark.     171 

Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  (quotation  from).     18 

British  views  of  the  American  Revolution.     84 

Brooklyn  Bridge.     63 

Burke  on  American  Revolution.     126 

California  Convention  goes  wild  over  Sunday  laws.     218 

Campbell  convicts  Protestantism  of  Romish  traditions.     182 

Capitol  building  at  Washington.     59 

Catholic  and  Protestant  can  unite  in  the  proposed  reform,     191 

"Catholic  Catechism  of  Christian  Religion."     177 

"Catholic  Christian  Instructed."     178 

Catholic  claims  waived.     241 

Catholicism  never  changes.     243 

Catholic  proof  that  the  Church  can  change  the  law.     179 

Catholics  admit  that  Sunday  is  not  enjoined  in  the  Scriptures,      1  "t  9 

Catholics  on  Sunday  observance.     240 

Catholics  welcomed  as  allies.     241 

Caused  to  receive  the  mark — what.     263 

Cause  of  present  infidel  activity.     235 

Causes  of  theFrench  Revolution.     144 

"Centennial  History"  on  American  progress.     30 

Centennial  of  adoption  of  the  Constitution— grand  celebration  pro 
posed.  223 

Change  in  the  law  by  papists.     175 

Change  of  front.     223 

Change  of  front  by  the  Christian  Press.     235 

Change  of  law  predicted.     174 

Change  of  the  Sabbath— how  Catholics  regard  it.     180 

Characteristics  of  the  government  of  Rev.  13  : 11.     136 

Character  of  America's  first  settlers.     84 

Character  of  the  National  Reform  Movement.     200 

Character  of  the  papacy.     103 

Chas.  Beecher  charges  Protestantism  with  apostasy.     143 

Chas.  Beecher  on  the  theological  situation.     143 

Chas.  Beecher's  testimony.     166 

Chicago  Express  declares  that  every  cause  which  led  to  union  of 
Church  and  State  in  Europe,  now  exists  in  this  country.  233 

Christ  falsely  charged.     181 


292  INDEX. 

CJiristian  Instructor  calls  for  religious  amendment.     238 

Christian  laws  can  be  abrogated  only'througk  blood.     233 

Christians  in  the  churches.     164 

Christian  Statesman  on  Sunday-breaking  Congressmen.     210 

Chronology  of  Rev.  13  : 11.     114 

Civil  and  religious  liberty  symbolized.     133 

Claims  of  the  Catholic  Church.     177 

Coast-line  of  the  U.  S.     86 

Condition  of  Western  Hemisphere  in  1798.     123 

Conditions  fulfilled.     90 

Congressmen  denounced  for  Sunday-breaking.     210 

Constantine  paganized  Christianity.     232 

Constitution,  Art.  II.  N.  R.  Association.     229 

Constitution  of  U.  S.,  character  of.     72 

Contemporary  powers.     146 

Continuance  of  the  papacy.     103 

Croly,  quotation  from.     117 

Cyrus  D.  Foss,  sermon  by.     79 

Dangers  anticipated  from  infidel  aggression.     234 

D'Aubigne  to  the  Evangelical  Alliance.     139 

David  Hartley  on  U.  S.  naval  power.     17 

Defining  heresy.     207 

Demand  of  Liberalism.     230 

Description  of  second  symbol  of  Rev.  13.     105 

De  Tocqueville  on  our  separation  from  England.     19 

Detroit  Evening  News  on  official  corruption.     141 

Different  organizations  for  Sunday.     222 

Discovery  of  America  an  enterprise  undertaken  in  the  interest  of 

religion.     83 

Doctrines  common  to  Christendom.     162 
Dublin  Nation  notes  the  manner  of  our  development.     127 
Dublin  Nation  on  American  Empire.     22 

Edward  Everett  on  English  exiles.     127 

Effect  of  apostasy.     166 

Effect  of  deceitful  wonders.     159 

Elements  now  at  work  in  this  nation.     144 

Emile  de  Girardin  on  American  prospects.     22 

End  of  the  prophecy  of  Rev.  13.     96 

England  on  U.  S.  Constitution.     77 

Enumeration  of  the  ten  divisions  of  Rome.     109 

Equal  rights  to  give  way  before  religion.     214 

Europe  has  an  eye  on  America.     112 

Evils  in  Protestant  churches.     143 

Evils  involved  in  the  amendment  movement.     247 

Examiner  and  Chronicle  shouts  both  yea  and  nay.     236 

Exposition  of  2  Thess.  2  :  9.     152 

Ex-President  Fillmore  on  Sunday  legislation.     215 

Extract  from  Burnaby's  travels.     16 


INDEX.  293 

False  claims  of  Spiritualism.     154 

False  definition  of  Church  and  State.     204 

F.  E.  Abbott's  estimate  of  the  N.  R.  movement.     197 

First-day  keepers  and  the  mark.     184 

First  railroad  in  America.     27 

Form  of  government  in  St.  John's  time.     116 

Frederic/Napoleon,  and  Washington.     79 

Galiani's  prediction.     17 

General  Conference  of  M.  E.  Church  indorses  amendment  move 
ment.     238 

Geo.  A.  Townsend  on  ihepieseutpotttico-t/ieological  movement.     192 
Geo.  A  Townsend,  providence  in  America.     20 
Geo.  Herbert's  poem.     18 
God  chose  America's  first  settlers.     84 
God  not  in  the  Constitution.     190 
God's  question  to  Job.     150 
Governor  Pownal's  views  of  America.     17,  19 
Great  judgments  attributed  to  Sunday-breaking.     217 
Great  wonders.     148 
Grounds  on  which  image  can  be  erected.     162 

Heaven's  judgments  justified.     186 

History  of  the  National  Reform  Association.     192 

Hon.  A.  H.  Cragiu,  speech  of.     73 

How  does  a  government  speak?     137 

How  the  miracles  of  Rev.  13  : 13  are  wrought.     151 

How  the  papacy  rose.     100 

How  revolutions  are  accomplished.     192 

Identity  between  the  little  horn  of  Dan.  7:25  and  leopard  beast  of 

Rev.  23.     100 
Idle  talk.     205 

Inconsistency  of  the  National  Reform  Movement.     201 
Incorporation  of  the  National  Reform  Association.     196 
Independent  American  Catholic  Church.     167 
Infant  baptism  not  enjoined  in  the  Scriptures.     179 
Influence  of  the  U.  S.  in  the  Pacific.     66 
Intention  necessary  to  change.     176 
Inter  Ocean's  report  of  Liberal  convention.     231 
In  the  forehead  and  hand  explained.     266 
Iowa  Baptist  Association  indorses  amendment  movement.     239 

Jefferson  on  origin  of  "just  powers."     252 

J.  Litch  on  chronology  of  Rev.  13: 11.     120 

J.  M.  Foster  (extract  from  sermon).     20 

John  Adams's  expectation.     16,  17 

Joseph  Cook  argues  for  Sunday  as  a  civil  institution.     225 

J.  S.  Smart  on  the  political  duties  of  Christians,     189 

lustinian's  decree.     100 


294  INDEX. 

Lansing  State  Republican  on  the  religious  amendment.     208 

Lashes  and  swords  poor  ambassadors  for  Christ.     233 

Last  apostasy  the  worst.     170. 

Last  day  prophecies.     153 

Law  in  Dan.  7:25.     172. 

Law  of  symbols  as  to  territory.     109 

Legislation  must  favor  Christians  only.     214 

Liberty  enlightening  the  world.     62 

Location  of  government  represented  by  the  second  symbol  of  Rev. 

13.     Ill 

Louisville,  Ky.,  pronounces  Sunday  a  civil  institution.     225 
Lying  wonders  defined.     151 
Lyman  Beecher's  testimony.     16G 

Macmillan  on  national  changes.     25 

Magistrates  may  enforce  Sunday  as  a  civil  institution.     215 

Making  an  image.     159 

Mark  of  beast — by  whom  enforced.     169 

Mark  of  the  beast— what  ?     172 

Meaning  of  Greek  avafialvov.     126 

Meaning  of  Greek  SVUTTIOV.     112 

Meaning  of  Greek  Kara  in  2  Thess.  2:  9.     152 

Meaning  of  Greek  ^dpay^a.     171 

M.  E.  Conference  in  Missouri  indorses  amendment  movement.    238 

Men  must  have  a  religion.     83 

Missionary  operations  of  Americans.     79 

Mistake  of  Protestantism.     163 

Mitchell's  testimony.     23 

Moral  condition  of  the  last  days.     138 

Moral  law— what  ?     175 

Mormon  polygamy.     254 

Motto  of  International  Sabbath  Association  Recorder.     223. 

Mr.  Haven's  testimony.     167 

Napoleon's  pretended  wonders.     152 
Nature  of  existing  elements.     139 

Necessary  conditions  of  the  church  at  the  second  advent.     185 
New  York  Independent  on  the  inconsistencies  of  the  National  Re 
form  Movement.     205 
New  York  Sabbath  committee.     189 
No  concessions  to  Jews  and  S.  D.  Baptists.     226 
No  objection  to  Sunday  laws.     256 
No  rights  for  the  minority.     228 
No  Scripture  for  Sunday-keeping.     173 
Not  a  pleasing  picture.     165 
Number  of  Spiritualists.     157 
Number  of  the  beast— what  ?     267 

Occurrence  of  the  word  "mark."     171 
Oppression  of  conscience.     228 
Organized  opposition.     139 


INDEX.  295 

Origin  of  Spiritualism.     156 

Our  position  defined.     245 

Our  two  evangels.     83 

Out  of  the  Dark  Ages.     182 

Out  of  the  earth.     124 

Overthrow  of  the  papacy  in  1798.     103 

Papacy  and  the  law.     172 

Paul's  testimony  in  2  Thess.  2:8.     173 

Penal  power  to  enforce  Sunday  called  for.     212 

Persecution  in  Pennsylvania.     257 

Petitions  to  Congress.     194 

Petroleum.     87 

Political  and  religious  liberty  guaranteed.     71 

Political  necessities  of  Christianity.     199 

Population  of  U.  S.  Colonies.     24 

Population  of  U.  S.  to  1850.     26 

Position  of  Mr.  Brunot  on  the  Pennsylvania  law.     258 

Position  of  Nebraska  State  Journal     251 

Power  exercised  by  the  symbol  of  Rev.  13  : 11.     147 

Prediction  by  Banner  of  Light.     167 

Prideaux  on  the  mark.     171 

Probabilities  of  trouble.     138 

Prof.  Zollner's  experiments.     155 

Prospects  of  the  amendment  movement.     259 

"Protestant  branch  of  the  great  Catholic  Church."     243 

Protestant  inconsistency  exposed  by  Catholics.     179 

Protestantism  surrendering.     243 

"Protestant  portion  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Rome."     244 

Recognizing  God  in  the  Constitution.     248 

Relation  of  Romanism  to  our  government.     142 

Religion  in  politics.     199 

Religious  discrimination.     227 

Religious  element  in  our  national  organization.     74 

Religious  element  in  Rome's  two  phases.     107 

Religious,  not  civil,  observance  of  Sunday  sought  for.     224 

Religious  rights  of  the  State  defined.     254 

Remarkable  instances  of  city  growth.     27 

Remarkable  scene  in  a  political  convention  over  a  religious  ques 
tion.  218 

Remodeling  the  government.     207 

Republicanism  and  Protestantism.     134 

Resources  of  America.     86 

Respect  for  Sunday  rests  on  individual  preferences,  not  on  law. 
190 

Result  of  the  religious  amendment  movement.     211 

Result  of  transferring  the  seat  of  the  Roman  empire  to  Constanti 
nople.  99 

Revelation  18  : 4— when  to  be  fulfilled.     165 

Reversing  the  theory  of  our  government.     262 


296  INDEX. 

Roman  Catholics  commended  for  favoring  Sunday.     213 

Rome  reproduced.     208 

Rome's  spiritual  kingdom.     99 

Romish  miracles.     152 

Rule  for  introducing  nations  into  prophecy.     90 

Russia,  population  of.     23 

Schuyler  Colfax's  testimony.     66 

Scieiitific  American  on  Pacific  railway.     61 

Scott's  testimony.     110 

Sea,  as  a  symbol,  explained.     124 

Second  Timothy  3  : 1-5  fulfilled.     164 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  Sunday  legislation.     223 

Settlement  at  Jamestown.     24 

Seventh-day  arguments  in  France.     221 

Seventh-day  keepers  must  attend  court,     213 

Shadows  of  the  Dark  Ages.     141 

Shameful  Sunday  technicality  in  New  York.     226 

Short  race  predicted  for  seventh-day  observers.     213 

Signers  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  portraits  of.     269 

Significance  of  the  expression  "coming  up."     119 

Signs  and  wonders  of  Spiritualism.     155 

Sir  Thos.  Brown's  prediction.     16,  18 

Some  modern  names  of  Rome's  ten  kingdoms.     110. 

Spirit  of  apostates.     186 

Spiritualism.     154 

Spiritualism  and  kings  of  the  earth.     157 

Stability  of  the  U.  S.  government.     76 

Startling  character  of  Spiritualism.     156 

Striking  in  the  dark.     181 

Sunday  agitation  in  Europe.     219 

Sunday  agitation  in  the  United  States.     219. 

Sunday  as  a  civil,  not  religious,  institution.     223 

Sunday  closing  in  England.     220 

Sunday  desecration  over  Grand  Duke  Alexis.     215 

Sunday  enforcement  in  India.     221 

Sunday  in  politics.     215 

Sunday-keeping  agitated  in  Austria.     221 

Sunday-keeping  agitated  in  Germany.     221 

Sunday  legislation  the  object  of  the  N.  R.  Movement.     209 

Sunday  reform.     189 

Sunday  rest  to  be  compulsory.     228 

Sunday  sophistry.     227 

Survey  of  the  field  of  prophecy.     90 

Symbol  of  horns  explained.     131 

Taming  the  lightning.     150 

Teaching  the  lightning  to  speak.     150 

Terms  defined.     168 

Territorial  changes  in  last  half  century.     26 


INDEX.  '207 

Territorial  growth  of  the  U.  S.     25 

Territory  of  U.  S.  in  1783.     24 

Testimony  of  Geo.  Bush.     264 

The  anti-Sunday  movements.     245 

Theater  of  the  coming  struggle.     198 

The  Atlantic  cable.     112 

The  battle  of  the  amendments.     198 

The  book  unsealed.     148 

The  California  Sunday  issue.     217 

The  Church  in  America  becoming  a  political  machine.     232 

The  Church  in  the  prophecy  of  Rev.  12-14.     96 

The  Church  seeking  political  power.      189 

The  Cincinnati  Convention.     193 

The  civil  observance  of  Sunday  not  a  religious  act.     224 

The  "civil"  rest-day  always  Sunday— why?     255 

The  coming  test.     158 

The  "consent"  of  all  governed.     254 

The  creed  evil.     163 

The  dragon,  Rev.  12,  explained.     98 

The  Exarch  of  Ravenna.     116 

The  false  prophet.     122 

The  false  prophet  of  Rev.  19  :  20.     151 

The  ideal  government.     86 

The  image— what?     263 

The  issue  that  is  to  come.     186 

The  leopard  beast  of  Rev.  13  explained.     99 

The  magnet  of  America.     74 

The  mark  denned.     175 

The  ministry  sought  for.     260 

"The  Model  Republic.0     79 

The  most  improbable  feature  of  the  prophecy  coming  to  pass.     191 

The  National  Reform  Association.     190 

The  National  Reform  Association — of  what  classes  composed.     190 

The  Nation  ou  the  civil  service  of  the  U.  S.     140 

The  N.  Y.  Independent  wheels  into  line.     225 

"  The  old  Philadelphia  lie."     252 

The  outlook  from  1798.     122 

The  papacy  re-instated.     117 

The  present  compared  with  the  age  of  Voltaire.     140 

The  question  settled.     182 

The  real  issue.     249 

The  Revolution  not  a  war  of  conquest.     125 

The  right  plant  for  the  new  world.     81 

The  Rochester  circular.     164 

The  Saviour's  prediction.     153 

The  seal  of  God— what  ?     183 

The  seven  forms  of  Roman  government.     115 

The  symbol  of  a  woman  explained.     97 

The  symbol  of  Rev.  13  : 11  a  republic.     160 

The  thirteen  original  States.     24 


298  INDEX. 

The  Tulare  (Cal.)  Times  denounces  the  amendment  movement  as 

leading  to  religious  tyranny.     231 
The  U.  S.  at  the  head  of  self-governing  powers.     15 
The  U.  S.  the  great  evangelizer.     82 
The  U.  S.  will  remain  through  all  time  to  come.     122 
The  war  of  1812  not  a  war  of  conquest.     125 
The  wonders  of  Rev.  13  :  13.     150 
Third  message  of  Rev.  14.     120 
Thompson  on  American  immigration.     64 
Thompson's  "Centennial  Dinner"  speech.     125 
Townsend  on  the  development  of  the  U.  S.  government.     127 
Treatise  of  thirty  controversies.     177 

Unbelief  in  the  ministry.     140 

Union  of  Church  and  State  disavowed.     202 

Union  of  Church  and  State  indorsed.     203 

Union  of  Church  and  State  strangely  ignored.     194 

Union  of  churches  called  for.     166 

Universalists  in  convention  favor  the  religious  amendment.     237 

Verbs  of  action,  signification  of.     264 
Vicarius  Filii  Dei,  meaning  of.     266 

Warning  of  the  third  message,  Rev.  14  :  9-12.     169 

Washington  Monument.     60 

Washington  on  religious  liberty.     72 

Wesley  on  chronology  of  Rev.  13  : 11.     120 

What  a  horn  may  denote.     135 

What  classes  have  embraced  Spiritualism  ?     157 

What  constitutes  the  two  horns,  Rev.  13  : 11  ?     162 

What  Spiritualism  teaches.     154 

What  the  Churches  united  can  do.     222 

What  the  image  does.     169 

What  the  proposed  amendment  is  designed  to  secure.     204 

What  will  constitute  the  image?     161 

When  can  the  mark  be  received?     185 

Where  a  fulfillment  is  to  be  expected.     187 

Wholly  Christian  or  infidel,  which?     198 

Who  will  decide  what  are  Christian  laws?     207 

Who  will  have  the  mark?     185 

Why  should  not  the  Jew  be  made  to  keep  Sunday?     212 

Wicked  sophistry.     251 

Winds  as  a  symbol  explained.     124 

Wonderful  condensation  of  instruction  in  prophecy.     106 

Working-man's  Lord's-day  Rest  Association  in  England.     220 

Work  of  little  horn  of  Daniel  7.     172 


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HISTORY  OF  THE  SABBATH 


—  AND  — 


THE  FIRST  DAT  OF  THE  WEEK, 

From  Creation  down  to  the  Present  Time.      In    Two   Parts, — 
Biblical  and  Secular. 


By  the  late  JOHN  KEVINS  ANDREWS, 

Formerly  Missionary  at  Bale,  Switzerland,  Editor  of  "  Les  Signos  des  Temj 
and  numerous  Religious  Works. 


THE  leading  subject  of  the  day  is  TIIE  SABBATH  QUESTION.  From  the  pulpit 
and  the  press,  in  social  circles  and  in  legislative  halls,  the  great  demand  of  the 
hour  is  that  the  Sabbath  be  more  strictly  observed.  To  assist  the  intellectual- 
minded  of  our  land  to  have  correct  views  of  this  important  question,  a  book  has 
been  prepared  which  thoroughly  discusses  the  Sabbatic  Institution  in  its  various 
phases.  This  volume 

IS  A  MINE  OF  INFORMATION 

On  the  Sabbath  question.  It  carefully  treats  the  'matter  from  a  Biblical  and  His 
torical  stand-point.  All  the  passages  of  Scripture,  in  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments,  which  have  any  bearing  on  the  subject,  are  carefully  and  critically 
examined.  The  various  steps  by  which  the  change  from  the  Seventh  Day  to  the 
First  Day  was  made,  and  the  final  exaltation  of  the  Lord's  Sabbath,  are  given  in 
detail. 

THE  COMPLETE  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  FATHERS, 

Immediately  following  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  in  reference  to  the  Sabbath  and 
First  Day,  is  presented,  and  the  comparative  merits  of  the  two  days  are  clearly 
shown. 

A  COPIOUS  INDEX 

Enables  the  reader  to  readily  find  any  passage  of  Scripture,  or  statement  of  any 
historian. 

This  great  work  is  the  result  of  ten  years'  hard  labor  and  historical  research. 
The  volume  contains  528  pages,  is  printed  in  large  type  on  good  paper,  and  is  well 
bound.  New  revised  edition  just  out. 

Price,  post-paid.  $1.50. 


An  Examination  of  a  Remedial   System   in   the    Light    of   Nature 
and  Revelation. 

By  J.  H.  WAGGONER. 

THIS  volume  is  a  critical  and  exhaustive  treatise  on  the  plan  of  salvation  as  re- 
'  vealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  No  other  work  on  this  important  subject  has 
treated  it  in  the  same  manner.  It  fully  refutes  the  idea  so  extensively  held,  that 
an  atonement  is  inconsistent  with  reason.  This  book  sheds  much  light  nppn^  the 
work  of  Christ  as  our  Qreat  High  Priest  in  the  Sanctuary  above.  Every  Minister 
and  Bible  Student  in  the  laud  should  have  a  copy  of  this  valuable  work. 

368  Pages,  bound  in  Cloth,  post-paid,       -  -  $1-00 


AN  INTERESTING  AND  INSTRUCTIVE  BOOK. 
THOUQHTS     ON 


By  URIAH  SMITH. 


A  Book  which  Scientists,  Historians,  Scripturists,  and  all  Lovers  of  Good 
Literature  can  Read  with  Interest  and  Profit. 


LL  know  that  the  books  of  Daniel  and  the  Revelation  are  two  of  the 
most  wonderful  books  in  the  Bible.  The  author  of  this  work  gives 
us  the  result  of  nearly  thirty  years'  study,  and  throws  such  a  flood 
of  light  on  these  two  books  as  no  other  work  in  any  language  has  ever 
done.  No  fanciful  theories  are  presented,  but  arguments  are  drawn  from 
ancient  and  modern  history  and  the  most  reliable  authorities,  in  great 
abundance,  to  make  clear  the  meaning  of  these  important  books  of  the 
Bible,  verse  by  verse,  and  convey  an  amount  of  information  which  cannot 
elsewhere  be  found  in  so  concise  a  form. 

GftEAT  C%mX  OF 


In  reading  this  book,  our  minds  are  carried  through  the  history  of  the 
rise  and  fall  of  four  great  nations  of  the  past,  which  are  represented  by 
the  great  image  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  and  iron,  from  the  old  Assyrian  em 
pire  down  to  the  division  of  the  Roman,  and  on  through  the  Dark  Ages 
in  which  Roman  power  and  Mohammedan  superstition  were  felt  and  seen 
all  over  the  earth. 

The  great  Revolution  in  France  in  1793-1798,  which  is  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  all  readers,  and  the  Eastern  Question,  which  is  now  attracting 
.the  attention  of  all  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  world,  are  carefully  con 
sidered  as  waymarks  on  the  great  stream  of  time. 

OUR  OWN  GOVERNMENT, 

The  youngest  power  in  history,  and  the  greatest  marvel  of  national  devel 
opment  —  a  nation  which  began  its  independent  existence  a  little  over  one 
hundred  years  ago,  with  815,615  square  miles  of  territory,  and  a  population 
of  about  3,000,000,  but  has  now  increased  its  territory  to  3,678,392  square 
miles,  and  its  population  to  over  54,000,000  —  is  treated  from  a  standpoint 
which  will  make  it  a  subject  of  great  interest  to  all.  The  author  believes 
this  nation  to  be  a  subject  of  prophecy,  —  a  prophecy  which  not  only  de 
scribes  its  present  exalted  position,  but  points  out  its  future  course  and 
destiny. 

"Thoughts  on  Daniel  and  the  Revelation"  is  a  volume  of  840  pages, 
printed  on  fine  paper,  handsomely  bound,  and  illustrated  with  appropriate 
colored  plates.  SOLD  BY  SUBSCRIPTION  ONLY.  Agents  Wanted.  Send  for 
Special  Terms.  Circulars  free. 


From  B.  L.  COZIER,  Late  Principal  Public  Schools,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Iowa:— 
I  believe  it  to  be  the  best  work  of  the  kind  extant. 

From  B.  F.  WRIGHT,  Probate  Judge,  Flandreau,  Dak.  Ter.:— 

I  very  cordially  recommend  it  to  all  persons  disposed  to  the  considera 
tion  of  ancient  history,  especially  in  its  connection  with  the  Sacred  Writ 

ings. 

From  Prof.  II.  R.  GLASS,  Supt.  Pub.  Instruction,  Lansing,  Mich.  :— 

The  subjects  considered  by  him  are  discussed  in  a  dignified  and  mas 
terly  manner.     I  am  sure  the  book  will  be  of  value  to  all  Bible  students. 

From  Rev.  Mr.  LOCKE,  M.  E.  Pastor,  Flandreau,  Dak.  Ter.:— 
I  most  heartily  recommend  it  to  the  public. 

From  Ex-Gov.  J.  L.    CHAMBERLAIN,  Pres.   Bowdoin    College,   Brunswick, 

Me.  :— 

I  think  it  a  good  book. 
From  I.  T.  GOOD  SELL,  Supt.  Elect  for  Moody  Co.,  Dale.  Ter.:— 

Such  books  deserve  to  be  read  and  studied  by  every  lover  of  historical 

facts. 

From  Rev.  E.  K.  YOUNG,  D.  D.,  Pastor  First  M.  E.   Church,  Des  Homes, 
Iowa:  — 

Unquestionably  a  valuable  book.     I  do  not  hesitate  to  commend  it. 

From  JAS.  SUMMERBELL,  Pastor  S.  D.  Baptist  Church,  Richburg,  N.  T.:— 
An  interesting,  instructive,  and  profitable  work  on  the  most  important 
of  all  themes. 

From  JOSEPH  D.   WILSON,  Rector  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  37th 
St.,  Chicago,  111.  :— 

"Thoughts  on  Daniel,"  by  Dr.  Smith,  is  a  good  popular  commentary. 

From  Prof.  C.  0.  NEPPER,  Heidelberg  College,  Tiffin,  Ohio:— 
The  more  I  read,  the  more  I  am  interested  and  delighted. 

From  Prof.  D.  MOURT,  Principal  Normal  Department    Central   Tennessee 

College:— 

I  am  glad  it  is  being  circulated  among  the  people. 

From  Rev.  R.  S.   BELLEVILLE,    Pastor  of  Presbyterian    Church,   Prince- 
mile,  III.  :— 

I  have  never  before  seen  so  readable  a  book  as  "  Thoughts  on  Daniel 
and  the  Revelation." 

From  D.   WEBSTER  COXE,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  St.   Paul   Church,  Fremont, 

Ohio:— 

I  think,  take  it  all  in  all,  it  is  the  best  commentary  on  the  prophecies 
I  ever  read. 

From  II.  R.  HANCOCK,  Attorney  at  Law,  West  Union,  Iowa:— 
Can  cheerfully  recommend  this  work  to  the  general  reader. 


is  work  can  a/so  be  had  in  the  Danish,  Swedish,  and  German 
languages. 


THE  MARVEL  OF  NATIONS. 


COUNT&Y: 


Its    Past;    Present  j    and    Future;    and   "What 
the  Bib  IE   says   of  It, 

—  s— 

By    URIAH    SMITH. 

Author  of  "  Thoughts  on  Daniel  and  the  Revelation,"  "The  Sanctuary  and  Its  Cleansing,"  "Smith's 
Diagram  of  Parliamentary  Rules,"  "  Man's  Nature  and  Destiny,"  etc. 

-  @  - 

st  of  our  Country  is  read  in  history  ;  its  present  is  before  the  eyes  of  every 
wide-awake  observer;  its  future  —  what  is  that  to  be  ?  Like  Patrick  Henry,  we 
may  judge  something  of  the  future  by  the  past  and  the  evident  tendencies  of  the 
present.  But  who  would  not  like  to  read  it  in  a  more  certain  light?  A  BOOK  IS  NOW 
OFFERED,  carefully  and  candidly  discussing  this  most  fascinating  theme.  Present 
issues  are  accounted  for,  and  future  results  clearly  shown. 

Is  the  Bible  an  Obsolete  Book?  or  do  its  predictions  reach  to  our  own 
times?  Other  great  nations  of  the  world  are  subjects  of  prophecy  ;  WHY  NOT  OUR 
OWN  ?  The  author,  having  made  Biblical  themes  his  study  for  over  thirty  'years, 
claims  to  know  the  difference  between  fact  and  fancy,  sound  sense  and  sophistry.  The 
writings  of  such  men  as  Keith,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Bishop  Newton,  Faber,  Hales,  Home, 
Boothroyd,  Clarke,  Scott,  Doddridge,  Nelson,  Henry,  Jenks,  Barnes,  etc.,  are  standard 
in  the  religious  world.  The  line  of  interpretation  largely  followed  by  these  men,  is  here 
adopted,  and  carried  a  step  farther.  In  other  words,  prophecy  is  brought  Abreast  of 
the  Times,  and  it  is  shown  how  the  Bible  should  be  read  in  the  light  of  the  present,  and 
the  present  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  Bible.  They  still  belong  together.  We  have 
not  yet  progressed  beyond  the  Bible.  As  surely  as  history  is  history  and  logic  is  logic, 
the  Scriptures  predicted  nearly  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  the  rise  of  this  Government, 
showing  that  it  would  — 

I.  Arise  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  —  2.  Arise  in  the  present  century— 
3.  Occupy  territory  previously  unknown  —  4.  Come  up  peacefully  — 
5.  Reach  great  power  —  6.  Proclaim  civil  and  religious  liberty  —  7.  Be 
a  republic—  8.  Be  a  Protestant  nation—  9.  Be  the  birth-place  of 
Modern  Spiritualism,  and—io.  Present  the  most  marvelous  exhibi 
tion  of  national  development  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

So  explicit  is  prophecy  in  regard  to  this  nation  ;  and  the  reader  will  find  every 
point  sustained  by  indubitable  Scripture  evidence  and  historical  testimony.  If  the  Bi 
ble  is  what  it  declares  itself  to  be,  "a  lamp  to  our  feet  and  a  light  to  our  path,"  it  is 
the  only  certain  light  in  which  to  interpret  passing  events. 


SUNDAY  QUESTION, 

Fast  coming  to  be  a  leading  political  issue,  is  discussed  from  the  standpoint  of  its  rela» 
tion  to  the  Government.  This  book, 

"THE  MARVEL   OF  NATIONS/' 

Has  now  reached  its  15  th  edition,  and  is  selling  rapidly.  It  treats  upon  no  fossil  theo 
ries,  but  fresh  themes  and  living  issues.  These  questions  are  COMING  TO  THE 
FRONT,  and  he  who  would  be  familiar  with  current  thought  on  current  subjects,  should 
give  them  an  examination. 

"  THE  MARVEL  OF  NA  TIONS"  is  a  volume  of  nearly  300  pages,  and  con 
tains  many  useful  illustrations.  The  type  is  large  and  clear,  and  the  printing  and  papei 
excellent. 

Bound  only  in  cloth,  and  sent  post-paid  for      -          -      $1.00. 

at  is  the  demand  for  this  book  that  the  later  editions  are  run  in  20,000  lots. 


The  Coming  Conflict: 

—  OK  — 

THE   GREAT   ISSUE    NOW    PENDING    IN   THIS 
COUNTRY. 


By  W.  H.  LITTLEJOHlSr. 


'"THIS  book  gives  a  complete  history  of  the  rise  and  work  of  the  well-known 

NATIONAL  REFORM  PARTY, 

And  what  they  are  attempting  to  accomplish  in  behalf  of  religion  by  State  legislation. 
This  volume  enters  a  most  vigorous  protest  to  all  such  efforts,  believing  that  they  are 
simply  tending  to  a  union  of  Church  and  State.  This  is  most  emphatically  a  book  for 
the  times,  and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  true  American.  Let  it  be  widely  circu 
lated  ! 

Bound  in  muslin,  434  pages,  price,  post-paid,  $1.00 


SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  PRESENT  TRUTH. 


By  UKIAH  SMITH. 


TT    VOLUME  of  333  12  mo.  pages,  devoted  to  an  exposition  of  those  truths  which  the 
author  regards  as  eminently  pertinent  for  these  days.     The  following 

TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

Will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  nature  of  this  volume. 

The  Great  Image  of  Daniel  II.— The  Vision  of  Daniel  VII.— Vision  of  Daniel  VIII. 
—The  70  Weeks  and  2300  Days — The  Sanctuary — The  Three  Messages  of  Revelation 
XIV.— Revelation  XII.  and  XIII.— The  Sabbath— Bible  View  of  the  Sabbath— Sabbath 
Theories  of  Akers,  Jenning^,  Mede,  and  Fuller — Sabbath  and  Sunday:  Their  Secular 
History — Nature  and  Destiny  of  Man — State  of  the  Dead — Destiny  of  the  Wicked — 
The  Seven  Last  Plagues— The  Millennium— Matthew  24— The  Seven  Churches— Seven 
Seals — Seven  Trumpets — Signs  of  the  Times — Spiritualism — The  Second  Advent — The 
Two  Laws — The  First-day  Sabbath — Baptism — Gifts  of  the  Spirit — Predestination — The 
144,000 — Ministration  of  Angels — The  Saints'  Inheritance. 

&W 'These  subjects  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  presented  by  the  author  in 
Biblical  institutes  and  in  his  lectures  to  theological  classes. 

Bound  in  cloth,  price,  post-paid,  .  .  $1.00 

20 


M/N'S  NATURE 


The  State  of  the  Dead ;  the  Reward  of  the  Righteous  ;  and 
the  End  of  the   Wicked. 


By  URIAH  SMITH. 

Author  of  "  The  Sanctuary  and  its  Cleansing  ;  "  "  Thoughts  on  Daniel  and  the  Revelation ;  "  "  Synop 
sis  of  the  Present  Truth  ;"  "The  Marvel  of  Nations;  "  "  A  Word  for  the  Sabbath;  " 
"Diagram  of  Parliamentary  Rules,"  etc. 

YYTHIS  work  is  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  great  question  of  a  Future  Life,  the  nature 
A.  of  man  in  the  present  life,  and  the  conditions  of  immortality,  from  a  logical  and 
Scriptural  stand-point. 

EVERY  TEXT  IN  THE  BIBLE,  which  has  any  possible  bearing  upon  these 
points,  is  taken  up  and  carefully  explained,  thus  giving  the  most  comprehensive  view 
of  the  subject  that  has  yet  been  presented. 

Scholarly  men  upon  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  have  written  at  length  upon  the  great 
question,  MAN,  HERE  AND  HEREAFTER;  but  it  may  be  safely  averred  that 
none  of  these  learned  treatises  can  take  the  place  of  the  work  under  consideration. 

TOPICALLY    CONSIDERED, 

This  volume  is  made  up  of  Thirty-eight  Chapters,  the  following  being  a  synopsis  of 
the  subject-matter  of  the  work  : — 

An  introduction,  showing  the  nature  of  the  subject. 

A  direct  inquiry  into  the  Bible  use  of  the  terms  "  mortal,"  "immortal,"  and  "im 
mortality."1 

An  examination  of  statements  supposed  to  prove  man  immortal ;  as,  the  "  image  of 
God,"  the  "  living  soul,"  and  the  "  breath  of  life." 

An  examination  of  the  terms  "soul"  and  "spirit,"  with  their  definitions  and  uses. 

An  examination  of  every  text,  consecutively,  which  uses  the  word  "  spirit "  in  a 
way  which  is  supposed  to  prove  that  it  is  conscious  in  death,  or  is  immortal. 

An  examination  of  every  text,  consecutively,  which  uses  the  word  "soul"  in  a  way 
which  is  supposed  to  show  that  it  is  conscious  in  death,  or  is  immortal. 

An  examination  of  all  other  statements  supposed  to  prove  man  conscious  in  death  ; 
as,  Matt.  22  :  32  ;  Luke  16  : 19-31 ;  23  :  43  ;  2  Cor.  5:8;  Phil,  i  :  23  ;  etc. 

A  positive  argument  on  the  nature  of  death,  as  illustrated  in  the  death  of  Adam, 
and  a  discussion  of  the  questions  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  a  future  Judg 
ment,  as  related  to  the  question  of  man's  nature  and  destiny. 

The  life  everlasting,  showing  what  it  is,  and  who  will  be  entitled  to  it. 

The  wages  of  sin — an  examination  of  every  text  supposed  to  prove  future  unending 
misery  for  the  lost. 

A  positive  argument  showing  what  the  end  of  the  wicked  will  be. 

A  vindication  of  God's  dealings  with  his  creatures. 

The  claims  of  philosophy,  an  examination  of  the  metaphysical  argument. 

An  historical  view  of  the  question. 

The  tendency  of  the  doctrine  advocated  in  this  work. 


As  before  observed,  the  great  subject  of  MANS'  PRESENT  STA  TE,  and  his 
FUTURE  REWARD  OR  PUNISHMENT,  is  here  covered  in  a  concise  and  direct 
manner.  There  are  THREE  COPIOUS  INDEXES  TO  THE  WORK,  so  that  the 
reader  can  readily  refer  to  any  author  quoted,  or  turn  to  any  text  or  argument,  with  fa- 

MAN'S  NATURE  AND  DESTINY 

Contains  444  pages,  and  is  printed  from  clear,  new  plates,  on  heavy  paper,  and  is  at 
tractively  bound  in  green  muslin,  with  gilt  side  and  back,  titles.  Facing  the  title  page 
is  an  appropriate  FRONTISPIECE,  designed  especially  for  the  work.  Orders  promptly 
filled,  by  mail  or  express,  to  any  extent. 

Price  of  Single  Copy,  post-paid,  $1.50. 

MATTER  PD  SPIRIT; 

OR 

The  Problem  of  Human  Tlionglit. 

By  D.  M.  CAHRIGHT. 


A  PHILOSOPHICAL  ARGUMENT  ON  AN  IMPORTANT  THEME. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS  : 

Organization  of  Matter  Imparts  to  it  New  Qualities — Confessions  of  Eminent  Men 
—What  is  Matter?— What  is  Vegetable  and  Animal  Life?— How  Different  Species  of 
Plants  and  Animals  are  Perpetuated — God  has  Organized  Matter  in  Certain  Forms  so 
that  it  does  Think — The  Beauty  and  Power  of  Matter  Lies  in  its  Organization — Cause 
and  Effect  Confounded — Instinct  and  Reason — From  whence  Comes  the  Immortal 
Spirit? — The  Disembodied  Spirit — Material  and  Immaterial — Cause  of  Infidelity  among 
Scientists — Is  Matter  Naturally  Corrupt? 

66  pages,  pamphlet  form. 

Price,  post-paid,      -  -10  cts. 

HISTHHY  HF  THE  WflLHENSES 


By   J.    A.    WYLIE. 


YTTHIS  is  a  plain  and  well-written  narrative  concerning  this  remarkable  people  from 
A.    their  earliest  history  to  the  present  time.     The  faith,  persecutions,  martyrdom,  and 
wholesale  massacres  of  the  Waldensian  brethren  ;  their  schools,  missions,  and  itinerant 
work;  their  mountain  fastnesses  ;  the  fierce  wars  waged  against  them  ;  their  exile,  and 
re-establishment  in  the  Valleys,  are  all  set  forth  with  historical  accuracy.    An  excellent 
book,  and  one  which  should  have  a  wide  circulation. 
212  pp.,  on  tinted  paper,  illustrated. 

In  muslin  covers,  post-paid,  per  copy,  -         90  cts. 

NOTE. — The  regular  price  erf  this  work  is  $1.25,  but  by  importing  a  large  stock,  the 
Office  is  able  to  sell  them  at  the  above  low  rate. 


Steal 


CHRIST   AND   SATAN 

From  Creation  down  to   the   End   of   Time. 

In  Four  12  mo.  Volumes  of  over  400  pages  each. 

By    Mrs.    E.    O.   WHITE. 

Volume  I. 


mmences  with  the  fall  of  Satan,  and  the  beginning  of  sin,  upon  which  great  light  is 
ed.     Next  it  treats  upon  the  creation  of  the  earth;  the  temptation  and  fall  of  our  first 


Co 

shed. 

parents  ;  and  then  opens  the  great  plan  of  salvation  in  a  most  instructive  and  deeply  in 

teresting  manner.     Thence  it  traces  the  history  of  redemption  as  illustrated  by  the  lives 

ot  good  and  evil  men  down  to  the  time  of  the  flood,  which  it  narrates  in  a  very  instruct 

ive  chapter.     It  dwells  very  minutely  upon  the  wanderings  of  the  Church  in  the  wilder 

ness,  in  the  time  of  Moses,  and  continues  the  record  till  the  time  of  Solomon. 

Volume  II. 

Continues  the  history  of  redemption  as  illustrated  in  the  Birth,  Life,  Ministry,  Miracles, 
and  Teachings  of  Christ.  This  volume  furnishes  invaluable  aid  in  studying  the  Life  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  set  forth  in  the  four  Gospels.  One  of  the  pleasing  features  of 
this  volume  is  the  plain  and  simple  language  with  which  the  author  clothes  thoughts  that 
glow  with  truth  and  beauty. 

Volume  III. 

Presents  the  facts  concerning  the  Death,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  Heaven's  Mes 
siah,  and  the  lives  and  ministry  of  the  Apostles.  This  volume  gives  a  deeply  interest 
ing  account  of  the  labors  and  death  of  the  heroic  Apostle  Paul. 

Volume  IV. 

Commences  with  our  Lord's  great  prophecy,  while  viewing  Jerusalem  from  the  Mount 
of  Olives.  The  volume  covers  the  entire  Christian  Dispensation  to  the  end  of  time.  It 
calls  attention  to  the  persecution  of  the  first  centuries,  and  the  rise  of  the  Papacy. 
Speaks  particularly  of  the  Dark  Ages,  and  the  work  ot  the  Reformers  and  martyrs. 
Considerable  space  is  given  to  the  life  and  teachings  of  later  reformers  and  religious 
teachers,  such  as  Whitefield,  the  Wesleys,  and  William  Miller.  The  closing  chapters 
give  a  vivid  picture  of  the  warfare  of  the  Church  and  the  final  triumph  of  the  people  of 
God.  The  Destruction  of  Satan  and  all  his  followers  closes  the  great  Controversy  be 
tween  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Powers  of  Darkness. 


series  of  works  is  invaluable  to  place  in  the  hands  of  skeptics.     It  is  also 
most  excellent  reading  for  Christian  people  of  every  name. 

These  writings  are  being  translated,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  the  French,  Ger 
man,  Danish,  and  Swedish  languages. 

Vol.  I.,  41  6  pages.     Price,  post-paid,  .               .        $1.00 

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editions. 


A,  WORD  FOR  THE  SABBATH, 

OR — 

FALSE  THEORIES  EXPOSED. 


By  URIAH  SMITH. 


HIS  is  a  poetic  monograph  upon  the  Sabbath  Question,  treating  it  metrically  in 
— ,  seven  chapters,  under  the  respective  headings  of  "  Truth  and  Error" — The  Sab 
bath  Instituted  at  Creation — The  Sabbath  a  Memorial — The  Sabbath  Not  Abolished — 
Apostolic  Example — Sabbath  and  Sunday — Vain  Philosophy 

This  little  lyric  pretty  thoroughly  canvasses  the  entire  ground  of  this  important 
subject.  Numerous  texts  of  Scripture  are  referred  to,  which  are  given  in  the  margin. 

It  is  a  very  enjoyable  book,  and  few  persons  will  begin  the  poem  without  reading 
the  entire  work. 

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In  muslin  covers,  post-paid,     -  -30  cts. 

JFHE  HOLY  SB1RW : 

Its    Gifts    and    Manifestations    to    the    End    of    the 
Christian    Age, 


BY  J.  H.  WAGGONER, 


HIS  is  a  brief  and  comprehensive  argument  on  the  solemn  and  important  subject 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  its 


The  chapters  of  this  work  fully  discuss  the  following  interesting  topics  : — 

The  Holy  Spirit  of  Promi§e  ; 

The  Power  from  on  High ; 

Cireumeision  of  the  Heart ; 

The  Unity  of  the  Faith  ; 

The  Law  and  the  Testimony ; 
Try  the  Spirits ; 

The  Great  Reformation  ; 

Gifts  in  the  Reformation  ; 

In  the  Present  Century ; 

Spirit  of  Prophecy  Restored. 

This  little  book  is  of  special  interest  to  those  who  believe  we  are  in  the  closing 
hours  of  the  Gospel  Dispensation,  and  that  the  Church  must  prepare  to  meet  her  Lord. 

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THE  BIBLE  MOM  HEAYM: 

A  Summary  of  Plain    Arguments    in    Behalf   of   the 
Bible  and   Christianity. 


By  D.  M.  CANBIGHT. 


HPHIS  neat  volume  is  all  that  it  professes  to  be,  a  series  of  strong  arguments  in  behalf 
*-  of  the  Bible,  written  in  very  simple  language.  In  its  thirty  chapters  it  presents  in 
the  main  all  the  valuable  arguments  in  behalf  of  the  Bible  which  are  found  in  large  and 
expensive  works.  The  book  should  be  in  every  household.  It  is  dedicated  to  "  Can 
did  Skeptics,  and  the  Young  Men  and  Women  of  our  Time,"  but  is  equally  adapted  to 
those  of  riper  years. 

Bound  in  cloth,  12  mo.,  300  pages,  post-paid,      -         80  cts. 

MATTHEW  TWENTY- FOUR, 


By  JAMES  WHITE. 


n^HIS  able  pamphlet  presents  a  critical  explanation  of  our  Lord's  great  prophecy,  as 
he  viewed  the  doomed  city  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  At  least  fifty 
thousand  copies  of  this  exposition  have  been  printed.  The  author  (now  deceased)  was 
one  of  the  most  careful  expositors  of  the  Scriptures.  The  book  treats  upon  the  entire 
chapter.  God  has  blessed  the  reading  of  this  pamphlet  to  the  salvation  of  many  souls. 

64  pages,  12  mo.,  paper  covers,  price,  post-paid,     .         10  cts. 


IT1HE  Scripture  testimony  on  the  doctrine  of  the 


of  SPIRITUAL  GIFTS. 


Illustrated  by  narratives  of  incidents,  and  sentiments  carefully  compiled  from  the  emi 
nently  pious  and  learned  of  various  denominations.  The  whole  drift  of  this  book  is  to 
show  that  in  ages  past,  among  many  different  denominations,  God  has  manifested  the 
gifts  of  his  Spirit  somewhat  as  in  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

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A  History  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Soul, 

AMONG  ALL  RACES  AND  PEOPLES,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN, 
INCLUDING  THEOLOGIANS,  PHILOSOPHERS,  SCIEN 
TISTS,  AND  UNTUTORED  ABORIGINES. 


By  D,  M.  CANRIGHT. 


THIS  is  a  12  mo.  volume  of  186  pages,  and  treats'  with  great  care  a  topic  of  special  in 
terest  in  this  day.     The  book  is  the  outcome  of  years  of  extensive  reading  and  care 
ful  study.     Great  care  has  been  taken  in  giving  references,  so  that  the  quotations  may 
be  relied  upon.     This  book  has  an  important  place  in  the  great  field  of  TRUTH. 

Bound  in  cloth.     Price,  post-paid,  -         75  cts. 


fln  $?camination  of  ffiii&tian  tBafrti&m  ;   Jfe  fic 
tion,  iuwfo  and 


By  J.    H.  WAGGONER. 


ljfi  if^HI-S  is  an  able  treatise  on  this  much-contested  subject.    The  pamphlet  tells  very 
—  ^     clearly  WHAT  baptism  is,  and  WHO  are  the  proper  ones  to  receive  the  ordinance. 
The  writer  also  presents  unanswerable  arguments  against  Trine  Immersion,  as  held  by 
the  Dunkards  and  some  others. 

Put  up  in  paper  covers,  192  pages.     Price,  post-paid,      25  cts. 


And  the    33OO    Days   of  Daniel   8:14. 


By  UHIAH  SMITH. 


1 1  /  HIS  work  sheds  very  great  light  upon  the  types  and  shadows  of  the  Mosaic  dispen- 
A  sation,  and  is  equally  clear  in  regard  to  the  PLACE  and  WORK  of  Christ,  as  our  Great 
High  Priest,  in  the  present  dispensation.  The  subject  of  a  remedial  system  for  fallen 
man,  and  the  nature  and  time  of  the  atonement,  as  well  as  the  work  of  the  Judgment  it 
self,  are  all  very  clearly  treated  in  this  valuable  book. 

This  is  just  the  volume  to  counteract  the  notions  of  certain  classes  of  Adventists 
who  are  continually  setting  the  day  for  Christ  to  come  the  second  time. 

Bound  in  cloth,  382  12  mo.  pages,  price,  post-paid,      -    $1.00 


FACTS  FOR  THE  TIMES : 

A  COLLECTION  OF 

VALUABLE  HISTORICAL  EXTRACTS, 

On  a  great  variety  of  Subjects,  of  special  interest  to  the  Bible  Student,  from  eminent 
authorities,  Ancient  and  Modern. 


Revised  by  Geo.  I.  BUTLER. 

This  volume  contains  ab'out  One  Thousand  separate  Historical  Statements.  The 
edition  comes  down  to  the  year  1885. 

The  general  subjects  elucidated  are  as  follows  :— 

The  Holy  Scriptures; 

Tradition  against  Reform  ; 

Likeness  of  Catholicism  to  Paganism  ; 
The  Prophecies  ; 

Fall  of  Babylon  ; 

United  States  in  Prophecy; 
The  Second  Advent;  Signs  of  the  Times ; 

The  Law  of  God;  The  World  Waxed  Old: 

The  Bible  Sabbath  ; 

The  Temporal  Millennium ; 

Baptism — Immersion  ; 

Is  the  Soul  Immortal? 

Death  of  Christ; 

Miscellaneous. 

The  extracts  contained  in  this  work  cover  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  many  of  them 
of  deep  interest  to  the  general  reader.  We  know  of  no  book  of  its  kind  containing  so 
many  interesting  quotations  on  important  subjects  of  general  interest.  Remarkable 
fulfillments  of  prophecy;  interesting  comments  upon  difficult  Scriptural  texts  from  the 
best  commentators ;  striking  occurrences  of  natural  phenomena ;  important  facts  in  the 
growth  of  our  country  ;  useful  statistics  concerning  population,  intemperance,  war,  and 
crime;  and  the  present  condition  of  the  religious,  political,  and  physical  world,  are 
among  the  subjects  treated  by  the  various  authors  quoted. 

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THE  INHERITANCE  OF  THE  SAINTS 


—  IN  — 

KARTH  MADK  NK\V. 

By  J.    N.    LOUGHBOROUGH. 


The  following  are  the  Topics  discussed  in  this  interesting  pamphlet  :  — 

The  Earth  Promised  to  the  Meek—  God's  Purpose  Concerning  the  Earth—  Special 
Promises  Respecting  the  Earth  —  The  Promise  made  to  Abraham  —  The  Purchased  Pos 
session  —  The  Rest  that  Remains  for  the  People  of  God  —  The  Disciples  of  Christ  Ex 
pected  a  Literal  Kingdom  —  The  Time  for  the  Establishment  of  the  Kingdom  —  The 
Thousand  Years  of  Revelation  20  —  Description  of  the  Kingdom  —  The  New  Jerusalem. 

In  pamphlet  form,  82  pages. 

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THE  MINISTRATION  OF  AlELS, 

AND   THE 

ORIGIN,  HISTORY,  $  DESTINY  OF  SATAN 

BY   D.    M.   CANBJGHT. 


following  is  the   Table  of  Contents:— 

FflRT   FIRST; 

MINISTRATION    OF   GOOD    ANGELS. 

INTRODUCTION — They  are  not  the  Spirits  of  Dead  Men — The  Heavenly  Family — Num 
ber  of  Angels — Angels  Real  Beings — Their  Exalted  Character — Different  Orders  of 
Angels — They  are  Ministering  Spirits — They  execute  God's  Judgments — Saints 
have  Guardian  Angels — Angels  Record  the  Deeds  of  Men — Angels  Assist  in  the 
Judgment — Angels  will  Gather  the  Saints. 

FflRT  SEEHNH; 

ORIGIN,   HISTORY,    AND   DESTINY    OF   SATAN. 

INTRODUCTION — Devils  are  Real  Beings — Why  does  God  Permit  Satan  to  Exist? — Or- 
igin  of  Satan — Satan  a  Wanderer — Satan  Gains  Possession  of  the  Earth — Order  of 
the  Fallen  Angels — Possessed  with  Devils — Satan  an  Accuser — Man  in  Prison — The 
Mission  of  Jesus — Redemption  of  Man — Satan  Bound — Judgment  of  the  Wicked — 
Will  Satan  be  Destroyed  ? 

Paper  Covers,  144  pages.    Price,  post-paid,  20  cts. 


REVISED  AND  ENLARGED. 

A  FAMILY   PORTFOLIO    OF    NATURAL    HISTORY    AND 
BIBLE    SCENES. 

1OO     ILLUSTRATIONS. 


THE  life  mission  of  some  people  seems  to  be  to  "scatter  sunshine  "  wherever  they 
go.  A  happy  disposition,  which  makes  the  best  of  everything,  looks  on  the  bright 
side,  and  ever  bears  in  mind  that  "  the  darkest  cloud  has  a  silver  lining,"  is  the  means 
of  brightening  the  lives  of  all  who  are  brought  under  its  influence.  While  this  is  true  of 
individuals,  it  is  equally  so  of  other  objects  which  have  an  influence  on  the  mind,  and 
most  emphatically  true  of  some  kinds  of  books.  The  work  entitled  "Sunshine  at 
Home  "  has  been  prepared  for  this  purpose,  as  indicated  by  its  title.  Its  mission  is.  to 
brighten  the  lives  of  those  who  peruse  its  pages,  by  its  entertaining  sketches,  and  beau 
tiful  pictures. 

NEARLY  ONE-HUNDRED  THOUSAND  ALREADY  SOLD. 

Owing  to  the  increasing  demand  for  this  justly  popular  book,  we  are  compelled 
to  issue  a  SPECIAL  EDITION,  in  extra  gilt  binding,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  use  it  as 
a  gift  book.  In  this  field  alone,  it  is  having  a  very  large  sale. 

TRANSLATIONS. 

We  have  also  translated  this  beautiful  book  into  Swedish,  which  is  meeting  with 
good  acceptance  among  the  Swedes,  several  editions  having  been  already  sold.  A 
translation  into  German  is  nearly  ready,  and  a  Danish  edition  will  be  issued  as  soon  as 
possible. 

THE  NEW  REVISED  EDITION 

Comprises  128  large,  quarto  pages  (lox  13%  inches),  and  190  illustrations,  and  is  printed 
on  fine,  calendered  paper,  in  the  best  style  of  typographic  art.  It  is  handsomely  and 
substantially  bound  in  two  styles  ;  viz.,  fine  green  cloth,  with  red  edges,  and  fine  red 
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ment  tor  any  center-table,  or  an  adornment  to  any  library. 

THE  WORK  OF  ITS  PREPARATION 

Has  been  carefully  performed,  every  page  having  been  submitted  to  the  most  exacting 
scrutiny,  and  with  special  reference  to  the  end  in  view.  Its  reading  matter  is  from  the 
pens  of  some  of  the  ablest  writers,  and  is  not  only  entertaining  and  attractive,  but  in. 
structive  and  profitable.  It  comprises  choice  poetical  selections,  descriptive  sketches 
accompanying  the  engravings,  interesting  geographical  descriptions,  entertaining  articles 
on  natural  history,  zoology,  etc. 

THE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Comprise  beautiful  scenes  from  nature,  romantic  castles,  stately  ships,  light-houses,  his 
torical  places,  and  events  on  sea  and  land,  renowned  men,  birds,  animals,  plants,  home 
life,  and  numerous  Bible  scenes. 


THE  LITERATURE 

Of  this  book  is  of  the  most  select  nature,  calculated  to  elevate  the  thoughts  and  motives, 
and  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  that  which  is  pure  and  ennobling.  Such  thoughts  and  illus 
trations  have  been  carefully  selected  as  would  teach  some  valuable  life  lesson. 

THE  BOOK  IS  DESIGNED  FOR  ALL. 

The  little  ones  will  find  stories  suited  to  their  fancy,  and  the  pictures  will  help  them 
to  spend  many  a  pleasant  hour;  while  the  older  ones  will  find  many  articles  of  interest 
from  which  to  derive  instruction,  as  well  as  entertainment. 

ITS  FIELD  OF  USEFULNESS. 

The  character  of  this  work  is  well  calculated  to  give  it  a  wide  circulation.  Bright 
and  sparkling,  without  being  frivolous  or  trifling,  moral  in  its  tone,  without  being  som 
ber  or  dogmatical,  it  finds  a  ready  sale  in  all  classes  of  society,  and  exerts  its  beneficent 
influence  wherever  it  goes.  It  readily  commends  itself  to  all  who  see  it.  It  will  make 
a  beautiful  holiday  gift  for  any  person,  and  we  commend  it  to  those  who  are  desirous  of 
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AND 


ODERN  SPIRITUALISM. 


BY    J.     H. 

THE  Nature  and  Tendency  of  this  world-wide  delusion  are  most  fully  set  forth  in  this 
little  book.     Without  doubt  it  is 

THE  MOST  THOROUGH  EXPOSURE  OF  SPIRITUALISM 

That  has  ever  been  published.  The  writer  has  carefully  studied  the  subject,  and  gives 
copious  extracts  from  accredited  writers  and  speakers,  by  which  the  entire  system  stands 
self-condemned.  It  is  also  clearly  shown  from  the  ScripUues  of  Truth  that  Spiritualism 
is  one  of  the  most  impressive  signs  of  the  times. 

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guage  is  spoken.  It  is  the  general  pioneer  paper  of  the  denomination  which  publishes 
it.  Terms  in  advance,  -  -  $2.00  a  year. 

Pacific  Health  Journal  and  Temperance  Advocate.    Devoted 

to  Temperance  Principles  and  the  Art  of  Preserving  Health.  32  pages,  bi-monthly, 
published  at  Oakland,  California.  Price,  -  -  50  cts.  a  year. 

The  Present  Truth.      A  1 6-page  religious  semi-monthly,  issued  at 

Grimsby,  England,  under  the  auspices  of  the  British  Mission.  This  is  a  live  periodical, 
being  both  doctrinal  and  practical,  and  is  used  largely  by  ship  colporters  and  canvass 
ers.  It  enjoys  a  large  circulation,  and  its  influence  on  the  side  of  unpopular  truth  is 
fe't  all  over  Great  Britain.  Subscription  price,  -  -  75  cts,  a  year. 


The  Bible  Echo  and  Signs  of  the  Times.    A  1  6-page  monthly, 

published  at  Melbourne,  Australia.  A  vigorous  exponent  of  those  Bible  truths  which 
are  of  especial  importance  at  the  present  day.  -  $1.00  a  year. 

Les  Signes  des  Temps.      A  semi-monthly  religious  paper,  issued 

at  Basel,  Switzerland,  in  the  French  language.  This  able  journal  is  both  doctrinal  and 
practical  as  to  its  contents,  and  is  au  earnest  exponent  of  the  signs  of  the  times. 
Terms,  -  $1.30  a  year. 

Slllidhedsbladet.       A    i6-page    Danish    health    and    temperance 
monthly,  published  at  Christiauia,  Norway,  80  cts.   a  year. 

Helso-OCll  Sjukvard.      A  Swedish  health  and  temperance  monthly, 
issued  at  Christiania,  Norway.     Price,  -         80  cts.  a  year. 

Herold  der  Wahrheit.     A   1  6-page  religious  semi-monthly,  pub- 
ished  at  Basel,  Switzerland,  in  the  German  tongue.     Price,  $1.00  a  year. 

L'UltimO  Messaggio.     An  Italian  religious  quarterly,  8  pages  in 
size,  issued  at  Basel,  Switzerland.     Price,  25  cts.  a  year. 

Adevaruhl  Present.      An  8-page  religious  quarterly,  in  the  Rou 
manian  language  published  at  Basel,  Switzerland.     Price,    -  -25  cts.  a  year. 

4®=-  A  paper  in  the  Holland  tongue  will  be  issued  as  soon  as  practicable. 


VALUABLE  RELIGIOUS  TRACTS: 

DOCTRINAL  AND  PRACTICAL. 


Tracts  are  in  size  from   4  pages  to  32,  and  may  be  ordered  singly  or  in 
quantities.     The  following  subjects  are  set  forth  in  their  pages,  and  from  this  data 

the  reader  can  pretty  clearly  determine  what  he  wants  :  — 

The  Nature  of  Man—  State  of  the  Dead—The  Punishment  of  the  Wicked—  The  Final 
Inheritance  of  the  Saints  —  The  Second  Advent  —  The  Signs  of  the  Times  —  The 
Judgment  —  Redemption  —  Our  Faith  and  Hope  —  The  Sabbath,  in  its  Several  Phases 
and  Obligations  —  The  Sanctuary  of  the  New  Covenant  —  The  Unchangeableness 
and  Perpetuity  of  the  Law  of  God—  The  Millennium  :  When  and  What?—  Spirit 
ualism,  the  Last  Deception  of  Satan  —  The  Covenants  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa 
ments  —  The  Two  Laws  —  The  Poet  Milton  on  Man  in  the  State  cf  Death  —  The 
Bible  Student's  Assistant,  etc.,  etc. 
4®=-  Catalogues,  giving  full  particulars,  sent  FREE. 

PRICE  :  Any  or  all  of  the  above  list  of  Tracts  furnished  at  the  rate  of 
8  pages  for  one  cent. 

PUBLICATIONS  IN  OTHER  LANGUAGES. 


\  /ANY  of  the  publications  noticed  in  this  catalogue  can  be  had  in  the  Danish,  Ger 
man,  Swedish,  French,  Italian,  and  Holland  languages.     These  publications  are 
generally  translations  from  the  English  originals,  many  of  which  appear  in  this  list. 
They  are  also  furnished  at  the  same  prices. 

Tracts  may  be  had  at  the  rate  of  Eight  Pages  for  One  Cent. 


THE  BIBLE-READING  GAZETTE 

CONTAINING 

One  Hundred  and  Sixty-two  Bible-Readings. 


DOCTRINAL,  PRACTICAL,  and  PROPHETICAL. 


ANY  person  who  is  interested  in  the  subject  of  Bible- Readings  should  have  this  vol 
ume.     These  Readings  were  prepared  by  ministers  and  Bible-students,  and  men 
of  them  have  been  presented  to  the  public  orally. 

Bound  in  Muslin,  288  pages.     Price,  post-paid,         -         $1.00 

arid  Temperapce 

PUBLICATIONS. 

HIS  Publishing  House  carries  a  large  assortment  of  sterling  Books,  Pamphlets, 
and  Tracts  on  Temperance  and  Hygiene.  These  works  are  mostly  from  the  pen 
of  Dr.  J.  H.  KELLOGG,  a  writer  of  extensive  fame,  and  the  Physician-in-Chief  in 

the  Great  Sanitarium  at  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.     We  give  the  names  and  prices  of  a 

few  of  these  books,  and  a  list  of  the  tracts  : — 

DIGESTION  AND  DYSPEPSIA. 

By  J.  H^  KELLOGG,  M.  D.    176  pp.         .  .  .        Price,  75  cts. 

DIPHTHERIA. 

By  J.  H.  KKLLOGG,  M.  D.    64  pp.  .  .  .        Price,  25  cts. 

USES  OF  WATER  IN  HEALTH  AND  DISEASE. 

By  J.  H.  KKLLOGG,  M.  D.     136  pp.  .  .        Price,  60  cts. 

ALCOHOLIC  POISON. 

By  J.  H.  KELLOGG,  M.  D.     128  pp.  .  .        Price,  25  cts. 

PRACTICAL  MANUAL  OF  HEALTH  AND  TEMPERANCE  ;  with 

a  large  appendix  teaching  HOW  TO  COOK. 
By  J.  H.  KELLOGG,  M.  D.    320  pp.        .  .  .        Price,  75  cts. 

The  Tracts  treat  upon  Alcohol — Alcoholic  Medication — Alcoholic  Poison — Causes 
and  Cure  of  Intemperance — Tea  and  Coffee — Tobacco,  in  all  its  hurtful  Aspects — 
Wine  and  the  Bible— Pork,  as  an  unscientific  and  unhygienic  article  for  food — True 
Temperance — Our  Nation's  Curse — The  Drunkard's  Arguments,  etc. 

J&f-  These  tracts  are  all  furnished  at  the  rate  of  8  pages  for  1  cent. 

Catalogues  sent  free  on  application. 


MONTHLY, 

DEVOTED   TO 

The  Defense  of  American  Institutions,  the  Preservation   of  the   United 
States  Constitution  as  it  is,  so  far  as  regards  Religion  or   Re 
ligious  Tests,  and  the  Maintenance  of  Human  Rights, 
both  Civ/7  and  Religious. 

.  J""f  .  HIS  JOURNAL  will  ever  be  uncompromisingly  opposed  to  anything  tending 
toward  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  either  in  name  or  in  fact. 

The  founders  of  our  noble  Government  recognized  the  necessity  of  having 
A  SEPARATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE.      They  had  seen  the  baleful  influ 
ences  of  having  the  two  united,  and,  therefore,  guarded  against  this  terrible 
O^O    evil  by  introducing  the  following  plain  declaration  into  the  Constitution  : — 
A  "  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion  or 

\J       prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 

So  far,  this  principle  has  generally  been  carried  out,  and  the  marvelous  growth  of 
our  nation  is  largely  owing  to  this  freedom  of  conscience.  But  there  are  those  who  feel 
that  there  is  now 

Just  <3ause   for   j?Llarm, 

And  that  there  is  danger  that  this  freedom  of  consciecne  will  be  denied  the  people. 

It  is  well  known  that  there  is  a  large  and  influential  Association  in  the  United  States, 
bearing  the  name  of  the  "National  Reform  Association,"  which  is  endeavoring  to  se 
cure  such  a  religious  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  will  "Place 
all  Christian  laws,  institutions,  and  usages  of  the  Government  on  an  undeniably  le 
gal  basis  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land. 

While  there  are  mmy  persons  in  this  country  who  are  opposed  to,  or  look  with 
suspicion  upon  this  movement,  there  are  few,  outside  of  the  party,  who  realize  what  the 
influence  of  this  amendment  would  be. 

The  Object  of  the  :?Lmerican  Sentinel 

Will  be  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  American  citizens,  which  we  believe  are  threatened 
by  this  Association.  It  will  appeal  to  the  very  fundamental  principles  of  our  Govern 
ment,  and  point  out  the  consequences  which  would  be  sure  to  follow  should  they  secure 
the  desired  amendment  to  the  Constitution. 

The  SENTINEL  will  contain  nothing  contrary  to  the  principles  of  morality  and  re 
ligion.  So  far  from  that,  we  shall  try  to  set  before  our  readers  the  true  relation  of  mor 
ality  and  religion,  and  show  that  this  relation  is  not  correctly  presented  by  the  party 
seeking  this  religious  amendment. 

Every  position  taken  will  be  carefully  guarded  and  fortified  by  sound  argument. 
Due  respect  will  always  be  paid  to  the  opinions  of  others,  but  the  rights  of  conscience 
will  be  fearlessly  maintained. 

The  publishers  are  determined  to  make  this  a  live  paper,  and  one  that  will  be  read 
with  interest  by  all  classes. 

The  AMERICAN  SENTINEL  is  published  monthly,  by  the  Pacific  Press  Publishing 
House,  1059  Castro  Street,  Oakland,  Cal. 

TERMS:    Single  Copy,  one  year,  50  Cents.     Specimen  Copies  Free! 
Address,  AMERICAN  SENTINEL, 

1059  Castro  Street,  OAKLAND,  CAL 


GOSPEL  SICKLE: 

A  BI-WEEKLY,  8-PAGE  PAPER, 

Devoted  to  Important  Bible  Doctrines,  which 

are  Especially  Applicable  to  the 

Present  Time, 

—  SUCH  AS  — 

The  Second  Coming  of  Christ  —  The  Signs   of  the   Times—  The   Nature 
of  Man  —  The  State  of  the  Dead  —  Future  Rewards  and  Punishments 

—  The  Law  of  God  —  The  Plan  of  Salvation  —  Modern   Spiritualism 

—  Satan's  Final  Deception,  and  Many  other  Bible  topics 

OF  GENERAL  INTEREST  TO  THE  READER. 

The  SICKLE  is  a  live  paper,  and  most  of  the  articles  are  prepared 
especially  for  its  columns. 

Jfurioo    SO    Cents    ipex*    "Year. 

Address,  REVIEW  &  HERALD,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

SPIRITUALISM  A  SATANIC  DELUSION, 

SUCH  is  the  title  of  a  vigorous  tract  of  32  pages,  which  is  a  most  thorough  expose., 
from  a  Bible  stand-point,  of  this 

LATTER-DAY    DELUSION, 

which  is  entrapping  multitudes  by  its  bewitching  fascinations.     Let  this  little  tract  be 
circulated  everywhere.     Single  copiesj  post-paid,       -  4  cts. 

Who  Changed  the  Sabbath?  ^^  ^!'it^  &. 

the  Sabbath  of  Creation  has  been  supplemented  by  the  First  Day  of  the  Week.     Should 
be  read  by  everybody.     Price,  3  Cents. 

Address,  REVIEW  &  HERALD,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 


TVlP   I  n<?f    Tl'mP    OnP^tinn       A  stirring  tract  of  24-pages,  which  most 
B    lAJbU-l  ^    UUebllOn.      effectually  dissipates  the  fog  and  sophis 

try  thrown  about  this  phase  of  the  Sabbath  Question.      Price,  3  Cents. 

Address,  REVIEW  &  HERALD,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 

The  Poet  Milton  on  the  State  of  the  Dead. 

A  Treatise  of  40  pages  on  the  State  of  Man  in  Death,  by  the  great  English  Poet, 
JOHN  MILTON,  taken  from  his  theological  writings.  This  great  scholar  held  to  the 
correct  view  in  regard  to  man's  unconsciousness  in  death,  and  the  fact  should  be  more 
widely  known.  40  pages.  Price,  o  Cents. 

Address,  REVIEW  &  HERALD,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 


,1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
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DECS 


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56 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


